SWO - Star War Online
by CrimsonKyuubiSage
Summary: Project Sword Art Online was never approved, having been negatively criticized due to excluding a magic system. Kayaba's second attempt at a VRMMORPG was an astounding success, collaborating with Argus and LucasArts to recreate a Star Wars MMORPG based in the Old Republic Era... Now the trapped players must survive the horrors and each other if they wish to make it out alive.
1. Chapter 1 - The World of Beginnings

**AN: Here I am, yet again trying to expand my writing skills beyond that of just Naruto fanfics. Don't get me wrong, Naruto will always be in my top five animes/mangas (Still trying to fill the void after the manga ended), but there are just too many ideas running through my head at once, this fanfic being one of them.**

 **On a "totally unrelated" subject, have any of you guys ever played Star Wars The Old Republic? Because what happens in this fanfic will reflect my own experiences with the game, but less stiff and more virtual reality-esque.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

" _If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine..._ "

* * *

Chapter Start

" _It's time for this week's MMO Stream. We began with a promotional video-_ " "Mute." a male voice called out, pressing the button with the same lettering on a remote and silencing the noise.

A grin appeared on his face as he picked up his NerveGear, the time having finally arrived for the servers of what was hailed as the most anticipated game of the decade to go online.

Star Wars Online, commonly referred to as SWO, was created by Kayaba Akihiko of FullDive Gaming Industries and supported by BioWare, Electronic Arts and LucasArts. It was first officially announced nearly two years ago, but was a decade in the making.

Normally, this would raise some concern in his mind. Games that took a decade to make were usually disappointing, like Nuke Dukem 2 or Quarter Life 3, failing to live up to the hype that was built up over them. But that was not the case with SWO.

He was among the 10,000 that were able to play the beta, and even the starting planets were breathtakingly detailed, as if he was actually there.

Glancing towards the computer screen, he noticed the glowing red clock that had popped up, showing zero days, zero hours, zero minutes, and zero seconds...

The countdown was finished. The servers were now up.

Wasting no time, he pulled the NerveGear over his head and plugged the device in.

"*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*!"

"... Link start!"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Welcome to Star Wars Online!" was written in bold text in front of his eyes, a near synthetic female voice accompanying as audio. "Would you like to go through the Tutorial?"  
"No."

"Please state your account login ID."

"Login ID... Crimson."  
"Verifying account information. Please wait..." A few seconds passed before three windows suddenly popped up in front of him, a fourth one appearing moments later that covered all three of the boxes before. "Congratulations, you were among the 10,000 Beta Testers! In recognition of such, you will be given a Special Reward in your starting inventory!"

"Ok...?"

The fourth window suddenly vanished, leaving just the first three boxes. The one on his left brightened while the other two were dulled down. "Choose your side."

Inside the first box was two symbols: a blue one on the left and a red one on the right, representing the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire respectively.

"Hmm..." Quite the difficult decision. The first time around, he went the path of a Jedi Knight...

And was beaten many, many times by hostile NPCs. But he eventually learned better, though that only applied to the beta.

"I've gone the path of the Republic, maybe this time... an Imperial." he mumbled, reaching out and tapping the red symbol. The window suddenly split into four sections.

"Choose your class."  
"Umm... can you please explain the choices?"  
"Acknowledged." the voice said. "Class One: Sith Warrior. Sith Warriors are deadly, expert fighters equipped with a lightsaber and the Force. Warriors can rush into a fight with Force Charge and Smash multiple targets with the Force."

As the voice spoke, the top left box began to glow yellow, indicating which class it was.

"Class Two: Sith Inquisitor. The Sith Inquisitor is a master of the dark side of the Force. Inquisitors overwhelm their targets with Force Lightning and lightsabers alike."

"Interesting..."

"Class Three: Imperial Agent. Agents are versatile, cunning and deadly, able to utilize cover and Snipe to take down targets at a great distance."

"And the final class?"

"Class Four: Bounty Hunter. Bounty Hunters are well-equipped and relentless trackers, utilizing a wide array of weaponry from blasters to missiles to flamethrowers."

He had to admit, each class had their own merits and perks, but he was leaning more towards Sith Inquisitor. A Sith Warrior was basically the Imperial equivalent of a Jedi Knight, and rushing into battle never really worked out well for him. The Imperial Agent and Bounty Hunter both used guns for their primary weapons, something that while good for some, was not for him. He'd be giving up lightsaber combat for gun mastery.

"I choose Sith Inquisitor."

"Are you sure?"  
"Yes."  
"Acknowledged." the first box dulled and the middle box lit up. "Customize your avatar."

"Okay... Let's see here..." he mumbled. "Body Type 2, Head 1, Scar 1, Complexion 1, Eye Color 1, Beard 1, Hair 3, Hair Color 21, and Skin Color 14."

"Are you sure?"  
"Yes."

"Acknowledged." the third and final box lit up as the second box dimmed. "Please state your avatar name."

"Kibishin."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Awesome!" the cries of various people almost brought a smile to his face, new players that were chatting away, talking to old and new friends or forming parties or even just taking in the sight of the starting world, Korriban.

Even he had to admit, the desolate desert scenery was as vivid as real life.

"Inventory." Kibishin called out, causing a blue box to pop up in front of him, showing only the first two slots filled with items. The first slot was two Minor Medpacs, something that came standard to every player when they first started, even in the beta, and in the second slot was a box.

He raised an eyebrow at that, unfamiliar with the new item. His hand moved towards the box and tapped on the item, causing a 1x1x1 foot box to appear right in front of him, dropping to the ground unceremoniously.

Kneeling down, Kibishin opened up the box...

Only to find that the box was empty, except for a ball of yellow light, which shot out and enveloped his form.

"Congratulations! You received x1 Grand Crystal Pack, x1 Grand Weapons Pack, x1 Grand Pets Pack!"

Sure enough, the box had vanished from his inventory slot, and in its place three purple items, the first in the shape of a black quartz crystal cut, the second in the shape of a black blaster pistol, and the third being a black outline of... some type of animal, he wasn't quite sure.

What he was sure of, was the item quality of each. Cheap quality was denoted by a grey outline, standard being white, premium represented by green, prototype by blue, custom was orange, artifact was purple, legendary was deep purple, legacy was light yellow, and mission items were a solid yellow.

All three items were purple, not a deep purple, but still artifact quality.

'I'll save those for later, after I reach level 10...' he thought, knowing fully well that the items he would have on the starting planet would suffice until he got to a point where he could get the mission quest for a lightsaber.

"Character." Kibishin called out, causing a new window to pop up. He quickly moved his hand to dismiss his inventory, preferring to check over the items that were currently equipped and his own stats.

Neophyte Robe, Neophyte's Lower Robe, Neophyte Anklewraps, and a Sith Training Blade. His eyes moved from the right slots to his character avatar, which stood at 5'11" with silver hair that covered his right eye, his left being a icy blue color, and his skin being a slightly tan color.

Level 1 - Mastery 54, Endurance 49, Power 0, Critical 0, Alacrity 0, Accuracy 0, Defense 0, Absorb 0, Shield 0, Expertise 0, Presence 49.

His stats were shit, but that would be remedied when he got gear that gave him stat increases and when he found datacrons scattered throughout planets.

"Chaaaaarrrrgggeee!"  
"Let's do this!"  
"Lerooooooooooooooooooy!"

Kibishin smirked, calmly walking around the crowd of new players that fought the hordes of K'lor'slugs that were in the starting area, whooping and hollering as some leveled up.

"Hey! You there!" Kibishin froze, knowing fully well that the call was directed at him. He quickly turned around to find two people running towards him.

Both had male avatars that were similar in appearance, standing at 6'3" with dark tan skin, and green eyes. They both wore the Sith Warrior Academy armor, and had the Sith Training Blade strapped on their backs, but their hairstyles differed. The one on the left had Hair 2, a short hairstyle that was a red color, and a stubble goatee. The one on the right had the same hair color, only his hair was in a more combed over style.

"Yes?" Kibishin questioned, sweatdropping as the duo panted, winded by the running.

"You... You look like you know your way around Korriban..." the one on the left said. "Care to help a few newbies out?"

"Oh! Umm... sure, I guess." Kibishin said. "What're your avatar names?"

"I'm Indra! Sith Warrior!" the one on the left exclaimed.  
"And I'm Asura, Sith Warrior..." the one on the right mumbled.

"Nice to meet'cha, I'm Kibishin, Sith Inquisitor." Kibishin stated, tapping the air twice, causing a window to pop up.

A few seconds later, two windows popped up, one in front of Indra and the other in front of Asura.

"That's a group invitation. Tap the accept button to join." Kibishin explained. Soon enough, Indra and Asura's health bars appeared in the bottom left corner of his vision.

"Alright... now what?" Indra questioned.

"Now..." Kibishin began, a grin forming on his face. "Ever heard of Datacrons?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"AAAAAAHHH!" Indra exclaimed, running away from a rather large Tuk'ata.

They had found the first Datacron quite easily, all three reaching Level 3 along the way, though Indra was too impatient to hear what they did and immediately tried attacking the first creature he saw...

Only to end up in the situation he was in now.

"... What an idiot..." Asura mumbled, watching from the nearby cliff alongside Kibishin.

"Well, I'll admit... I never thought I'd see a sight like that... ever." Kibishin said.

"So can you tell me what these Datacron things do again exactly?" Asura questioned.

"There's three Datacrons on each planet, six if you count the ones that are on the Republic side, I think..." Kibishin explained as he knelt down and tapped the glowing cube. "They grant bonus points to a single stat or give you a matrix shard, but I'm not sure how that works. This one right here gives +2 Willpower."

"Sweet..." Asura mumbled.

"Hmm... I guess I should probably help Indra out." Kibishin stated, finding that watching Indra run away from the low-level creature was getting dull very fast.

"How? It will take forever to just simply hit that creature to kill it..." Asura asked.

"Each Class has their own skill tree and abilities. You can activate them by calling out the attack names or if you've used a certain skill enough times you can achieve the same results by just mentally saying it." Kibishin explained, grabbing his weapon off his back and jumping down off the cliff, running towards Indra once he hit the ground. " **Shock**!" he yelled, extending his free hand as lightning cackled and shot out towards the unsuspecting Tuk'ata.

"Grrrrr!" the creature exclaimed, nearly a quarter of its health having been depleted by the attack and paralyzed by the effect.

" **Saber Strike**!" Kibishin exclaimed, his training sword emitting a small glow and he landed two strikes against the beast's side, the last of its health dropping to zero not a second later.

"Congratulations! You have reached Level 4!"

"Wow..." Indra muttered, a computer generated breeze blowing by and swaying Kibishin's hair, a hue of red on the former's face.

"... Dude, are you alright?" Kibishin questioned.  
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine!" Indra quickly exclaimed.

...

"Hey, listen. I've got to go offline now, schoolwork and all." Kibishin said, scratching the back of his head.  
"Yeah, that reminds me. We've got stuff to do for school as well." Indra added. "Asura and I have a project we have to finish."

"Ne, how about we add each other to our Friends' List?" Kibishin suggested, pulling up his action window and scrolling towards the Friends' List icon.

"Kibishin wants to add you as a Friend! Do you wish to accept?" two identical windows popped up in front of Indra and Asura, both quickly pressing the 'Accept' button.

"Alright! I guess I'll see you guys... later..." Kibishin trailed off, his eyes narrowing and a frown marring his face.

"Eh? What's wrong, Kibishin?" Asura asked.

"There's no Log Out button..."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"What do you mean there's no Log Out button?!"  
"I mean its not there! See for yourself!" Kibishin exclaimed, Indra and Asura pulling up their action windows and finding the same thing was missing.

"This is bad... This is really bad!" Indra exclaimed, dropping to the ground and panicking.

"It might just be a server bug. The game did just come out of beta..." Asura pointed out.

"Let's try calling a Game Master. We probably aren't the first ones to experience this bug, so a GM should know what to do." Kibishin said, pressing the 'Help' button.

...

"-I'm sorry, sir! We don't know how this happened! We're trying to figure out a solution as soon as possible!" Instead of the usual call window that Kibishin used during the beta, the trio was greeted with the sight of a GM teleporting to them, a tall man that stood at 5'11" with shaggy brown hair and a beard to match.

"... Umm, are you a GM?" Kibishin questioned, catching the brunette man's attention.  
"If you're going to ask about the Log Out issue, I don't know the answer!" the man exclaimed, his hands a flurry of movement from one call icon to another with three more taking its place.

"What about a forced log out? Couldn't you just shut down the server and kick everyone out?" Asura asked.

"I would if I could, but I don't have that kind of admin authority. The only person that has that kind of power is-" the man froze, eyes widened in realization.

"Who?"

"Kayaba! Kayaba Akihiko!" the man exclaimed, every single Help call window vanishing at once. Suddenly, the same window popped up in front of Kibishin, Asura, Indra, and the GM...

As well as every single player in the server.

" **Attention, players. Welcome to my world.** " the screen was a live feed, but the only thing visible was a red robed figure.

"'My world'?" Asura mumbled.

"Oh Kami no..." the GM muttered, a look of horror on his face.

" **My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment. I am the sole person who can control this world.** " the hooded figure stated.

"Gah!" the GM exclaimed, dropping to his knees as lightning coursed through his body.

"Your Admin privileges have been dropped from Level 9 to Level 1!" the text window popped up above his head.

" **I'm sure you've already noticed that the Log Out button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Star Wars Online.** " Kayaba stated.

"A-A feature?" Indra muttered.

" **You cannot log out of SWO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear.** " Kayaba explained. " **Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.** "

"What?!" the former GM cried out.

"I-Is what he said true? Can the NerveGear really kill us if we-" "Yes." the former GM replied.  
"I don't understand... how is that possible?" Kibishin asked.  
"The transmitter's signals work just like microwaves. If the safety were disabled, it could fry a brain." the former GM stated.  
"But if we cut the power..." Indra started.

"No, the NerveGear has an internal battery." the former GM retorted.

" **Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear.** " Kayaba said. " **As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both the Galaxy and the real world.** "

"Two hundred and thirteen?" Indra muttered.

"Dear Kami above..." the former GM mumbled.

" **As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths.** " Kayaba added. " **Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly... There is no longer any method to revive someone withing the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain.** "

"That son of a bitch!" the former GM exclaimed.

" **There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on your starting world, depending on your respective class. A total of four of the one hundred planets available. Each planet has a World Boss, hidden in one of the many Heroic Areas present. Defeat all one hundred World Bosses, and you will clear the game.** " Kayaba explained.

"One hundred planets? Every World Boss?! That's impossible..." the former GM said. "Even the beta testers never made it anywhere near that far!"

" **Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves.** " Kayaba said.  
"Huh?" Kibishin mumbled, pulling up his Inventory and finding... a Mirror? Clicking on the item, a small reflective piece of glass appeared in his hands, the same going for Indra, Asura, and the former GM.

Suddenly, flashes of light lit up each and every area, engulfing a players' form until the entire map was nothing but a bright light. When the lights died down, everyone was different...

"You okay, Kibishin?" a feminine voice called out.  
"I... I think so..." Kibishin replied, taking a glance at his body.

"What just happened?" another feminine voice asked.

"Wait a minute! Who are you two?" Kibishin asked, noticing that in place of the towering Indra and Asura was two girls. The first stood at 5'4" with long, flat red hair that went halfway down her back and vibrant green eyes. And the second girl stood just a little bit taller than the first, at 5'5" with short red hair that ended at her shoulders and had the same vibrant green eyes.

"Who are _we_... who are _you_?!" the second girl retorted. Kibishin glanced down at the mirror in his hands and found that his avatar had changed as well... to his face. His _real_ face.

"Ahh!" Kibishin exclaimed. No longer did he stand at 5'11", he had shrunk down to 5'7", his hair grew out to his neck, becoming more wavy and no longer silver in color, but almost a mixture between blond and a tint of red, giving it an almost pink hue, and lastly his eyes were no longer icy blue, instead they were an obsidian black.

"Oh boy..." the former GM mumbled, his appearance remaining nearly the same as before, perhaps a bit more angular and shorter. "This mirror..."  
"What did it do?" Kibishin questioned.

"The Mirror was supposed to be an item to change cosmetic appearances for avatars, but I think Kayaba made it so that our avatars now reflect our real life appearances." the former GM replied.

"That means..." the first girl mumbled, pointing accusingly at the near-pink haired man. "You're Kibishin!"

"And you two are Indra and Asura!" Kibishin exclaimed. "Uhh... just so we're clear, which one of you is Indra and Asura?"  
"I'm Indra." the first girl stated.

"And I'm Asura." the second girl added. "But how... how are we like this?"

"The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signaling device. So it can see what your face looks like. And our body and height types are most likely from when we first used the NerveGear, when we had to calibrate it." the former GM said.

" **Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why?' Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Star Wars Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Star Wars Online for one reason... To create this universe and intervene in it.** " Kayaba stated " **And now, it is complete.** " the video feed began to twist and contort, its signal growing weaker and weaker by the second. " **This ends the tutorial for the official Star Wars Online launch. Good luck, players.** " And with that, the window vanished all together, leaving a silence that even the faintest of breaths could be heard like a bull in a china shop.

...

Then the panic set in. Players all around Korriban began to cry out in a mixture of shock, surprise, fear and outrage.

"This is bad! This is bad!" the former GM exclaimed repeatedly.  
"Calm down, uhh... what's your name again? You never gave it to us." Kibishin asked.

"Oh, right! My name is Gokugo, one of the Game - one of the _former_ Game Masters..." the man replied.

"Well, Gokugo, you need to calm down, keep a level head. Surely, you must know something that can help us?" Kibishin questioned.

"I... I didn't know that this would happen! None of the others did!" Gokugo yelled.  
"It's okay. Just breath." Kibishin said, his voice leveled and calming. "There's nothing we can do about it now, all that we can do is play this madman's game."

"Are you actually suggesting we just let this whole incident go?!" Indra questioned.

"No, but Kayaba said that there was a way out. Albeit a difficult one, it is not impossible." Kibishin stated. "Which means we'll need to get the gear to live up to the challenge."

"I... I think I know what you mean." Gokugo said. "I know where to go for the right quests on the starting planets, but after that... Look, I wasn't part of the development team, I was just hired on as an admin, so I don't know that much after that."

"It can still help us." Kibishin responded, pulling up his window and searching for Gokugo's name.

"Kibishin wishes to add you to his Group! Do you accept?" the window popped up in front of Gokugo, who quickly accepted the request.

"We'll have to act fast. I fear that the players here will react violently to GMs or anything related to Kayaba." Kibishin said.

"What do you mean?" Indra asked.  
"It is human nature to lash out and find a scapegoat. That's always happened in history." Kibishin explained. "Our best bet is to get as far away from the mob as fast as possible."

"W-Well... we're going to have to start right now. Get to Level 10 and unlock the advanced classes." Gokugo mumbled. "If we start saving up now, with minimal spending, we could probably afford a starship of our own..."

"Lead the way, then." Kibishin replied.

"H-Hai!" Gokugo exclaimed. "This way!"

And thus, the game of life and death had begun.

Chapter End

* * *

 **Character Stats:**

 **Kibishin - Male (Sith Inquisitor)**

 **Level - 4**

 **Mastery - 66**

 **Endurance - 59**

 **Power - 0**

 **Critical - 0**

 **Alacrity - 0**

 **Accuracy - 0**

 **Defense - 0**

 **Absorb - 0**

 **Shield - 0**

 **Expertise - 0**

 **Presence - 59**

 **Indra - Female (Sith Warrior)**

 **Level - 3**

 **Mastery - 62**

 **Endurance - 56**

 **Power - 0**

 **Critical - 0**

 **Alacrity - 0**

 **Accuracy - 0**

 **Defense - 0**

 **Absorb - 0**

 **Shield - 0**

 **Expertise - 0**

 **Presence - 56**

 **Asura - Female (Sith Warrior)**

 **Level - 3**

 **Mastery - 62**

 **Endurance - 56**

 **Power - 0**

 **Critical - 0**

 **Alacrity - 0**

 **Accuracy - 0**

 **Defense - 0**

 **Absorb - 0**

 **Shield - 0**

 **Expertise - 0**

 **Presence - 56**

 **Gokugo - Male (Sith Inquisitor)**

 **Level - 5**

 **Mastery - 70**

 **Endurance - 62**

 **Power - 0**

 **Critical - 0**

 **Alacrity - 0**

 **Accuracy - 0**

 **Defense - 0**

 **Absorb - 0**

 **Shield - 0**

 **Expertise - 0**

 **Presence - 62**


	2. Chapter 2 - Imperial Fleet

**AN: If you haven't figured it out yet, Star Wars Online is the revamped version of Star Wars The Old Republic, made from an MMORPG to a VRMMORPG. There are certain features that remained the same and others that were changed.**

 **For instance, despite there being specific classes that grant mastery over certain weapons - like a Jedi Warrior and a lightsaber or a Smuggler and a blaster pistol - Kayaba had to account for the ability to use various weapons and fill other roles in a party. Meaning that a player in SWO could be, per say, an Imperial Agent and wield a lightsaber, or be a Jedi Consular and use a blaster rifle or pistol in place of a lightsaber.**

 **Class abilities do not apply to this, however. Certain skills require certain weapons to use...**

* * *

 **Oh, and before I forget, a reviewer by the name of Demonfox25 suggested SYOC...**

 **I had absolutely no clue what that stood for until I looked it up, and even then the first acronym that came up was "Suck Your Own Cock"...**

 **But I'm pretty sure that isn't what he meant. The second meaning is "Submit Your Own Character", which I'm hoping is what he or she was trying to say.**

 **And honestly, I don't think it's a bad idea.**

 **So if you, the reader, would like to submit your own OC (Not to be confused with the first meaning of SYOC), then...**

 **Crimson's SYOC Rules and Guidelines:**

 **1\. Original characters only. No characters that are from other animes, only I have that kind of power.**

 **2\. No Godlike characters, everyone is equal in the battlefield.**

 **3\. This is just a suggestion, not a rule, but not EVERY name has to be Japanese in origin. The only reason for that being the case thus far, is because the demographic of players in SWO is made up primarily of citizens of Eastern Asia countries (Japan, China, Korea), North America (United States, Canada), parts of Europe (United Kingdom, France, Germany), and then less than 10% make up players from other countries.**

 **That, and, well... Japanophile players.**

 **4\. You must be specific with what class you wish them to be. Weapon specifics are optional - he or she could wield a lightsaber and a blaster pistol or two double-bladed lightsabers or vibro knives or any Star Wars The Old Republic weapon.**

 **5\. By submitting a character, you hereby submit the right to:**

 **A) Complain if said character is killed off, ranging from "villainous demise" to "heroic death".**

 **B) Complain if said character goes from "happy go lucky me" to "that orange spiky haired punk from episode 2 that is only mentioned to be a dick later on" or "that one psycho bitch who killed his own wife and planned the PK in a safe zone". The same can be said for the inverse "Solo Player Syndrome" to "Kirito x Asuna yay!".'**

 **There were ten thousand Beta Testers for SWO, and one million players logged on before the server became a trap. If you think that everyone will just hold hands and start singing Kumbaya, then you obviously don't know SAO or SWO.**

 **6\. Please consider that humans aren't the only playable species. Players that chose non-human species would still retain their real physical appearances, only as if they were born that species.**

 **7\. Like all games, there is a certain character limit to a player's name. The limit here will be 16 characters. This applies to the avatar name only, as for real names... well, go fucking nuts.**

 **Everything else is up to you, the reader. Good luck!**

* * *

Chapter Start

 **-Star Wars Online-**

November 9, 2022... Three days. That's how long has passed since the server had been launched, and how long it's been since the players had been informed they were trapped. And in that time, of the one hundred thousand players that had logged in, two hundred and thirteen had been killed by removing their NerveGear, fifteen had committed suicide, and twenty-two had been killed by hostile NPCs.

Two hundred and fifty players total. Luckily, there haven't been any deaths caused by players killing other players... yet.

As for Kibishin and his group, their first day was spent following Gokugo through the quests available, upgrading their armor and weapons and leveling up until they were each level above level 10.

All in all, they had made quite the amount of Credits in the process, nearly a thousand each, give or take a hundred.

By the time night fell, they each took shifts while the others slept, trading off every two hours.

When day number two began, they were well-equipped and armed, taking on a few of the quests that other players might not have known about.

Part of them felt a bit guilty withholding that kind of information, but secrecy was important for their group. Not only did they have a beta tester, but a former GM as well, something that would invoke rage in other players.

Which brought them to the dawn of day three...

"I don't know if we should be doing this..." Asura mumbled. "I mean, is this the right thing to do?"  
"We need to get better gear to take on the World Bosses. And there is a certain limit for what the starting world items can provide." Gokugo stated. "We have to figure out the next planet to go to, so we have to take the shuttle to the Imperial Fleet and then travel from there."

"But we still don't have lightsabers." Indra stated.

"I can explain that once we're aboard the Imperial Fleet." Gokugo replied. "But we'll have to move fast, while it's still night time. The less attention on us, the easier this will be."  
"He's right. We should get moving now." Kibishin said.

"What about food, Pinky?" Indra questioned, causing a tick mark to appear on Kibishin's face.

"It's not pink! It's a pale blond with a tinge of red!" Kibishin exclaimed. "As for food, there's a vendor for that aboard the Imperial Fleet."

"We seriously have to get moving... NOW!" Gokugo emphasized, beads of sweat dripping down his face as he watched the sun begin to peak above the desolate desert.

"Right." Indra said.

"Where do you wish to travel?" the text box appeared in front of Kibishin and the others, as well as a green circle. Underneath this window was a single option...

"Imperial Fleet."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Damn..." Indra muttered.

"Kayaba may be an asshole, but he's great in designing these types of areas." Gokugo stated.  
"It's really empty though..." Asura mumbled, causing everybody to grow eerily silent.

"... Hey, how about you two go with Gokugo over to the class trainer area? While you guys get your lightsabers, I'll get us some food." Kibishin suggested, causing the two girls to smile a little.

"Hai..." Asura said.

"Sounds like a good idea." Indra added.

...

Kibishin glanced over his shoulder, walking at a brisk pace towards the supply section of the Imperial Fleet.

The moment he reached the nearest corner, he collapsed, his back slamming against the wall and sliding down until his knees curled up to his chest.

'The other players, the ones we left behind at Korriban...' Kibishin thought. 'We just... abandoned them...'

" **Ne, why are you acting so sad?** " a childish, synthetic, yet distinctly feminine voice called out. Kibishin freaked out and tried to back away, despite his back already being against a wall.

Standing over him was... a strange girl, if the voice was any indication of its gender. The figure stood at 5'0", nearly 5'1", and her entire body was wrapped in bandages, save for two eye holes that didn't even give him a distinct indication of her eye color. On top of this, she wore a tattered maroon cloak with ears that seemed to react to her expressions attached to the hood. She also wore a vibrant blue scarf around her neck, yet even that looked tattered as well.

"Who... Who are you?" Kibishin asked, his eyes narrowing as he observed the mysterious girl.

She did not have a green or orange or red diamond above her head, meaning she wasn't a player...

Yet she did not have a text box above her head, meaning she was not an NPC either.

'Maybe her cloak can hide that...' Kibishin thought. 'Or my **Observe** skill isn't high enough.'

" **Who do you think I am?** " the girl asked, clasping her hands together behind her back and bouncing up and down on her heels.

"I don't know..." Kibishin replied, giving a deadpan stare directed at the girl. "That's why I'm asking."

" **Touché...** " the girl said, crouching down until she was at eye level with Kibishin. " **What's your name?** "  
"I asked you first." Kibishin responded.  
" **And I'll give you mine if you give me yours.** " the girl retorted.

"Humph! Fine... My name is Kibishin." Kibishin stated, causing the mysterious girl to shake her head.  
" **No no no no no no.** " the girl said. " **I mean your** _ **real**_ **name.** "

...

"My... my real name?"  
" **Hai! Not your avatar ID!** "  
"... I-"  
" **It's okay if you don't wanna tell me.** " the girl stated. " **Just know that you won't get my real name either~** "  
"Then what do I call you?" Kibishin questioned.

" **Hmm... You can call me... 'Eta', Kibi-kun.** " the girl replied.

"... 'Eta'?"

" **Yeah! Like the Greek letter! Eta!** " Eta exclaimed.

"Well... I guess it's nice to meet you then, Eta-san." Kibishin stated.

" **Likewise!** " Eta said cheerfully, standing back up and beginning to walk away. " **It's been nice meeting you! By the way, the best chow can be bought from the third shop! Just look for the one that has a miso bowl sign above it!** "  
"Hey, where are you going?" Kibishin asked, grabbing the short, mysterious girl's hand.

" **...** " Eta became awfully silent, staring at the hand that held her own as if it were such a foreign concept that her mind was unwilling or unable to comprehend. She hesitated for a moment before pulling her hand away from Kibishin's own, dashing around the corner.

"Wait!" Kibishin exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running after Eta...

Only to find that she had disappeared.

'What the...' he thought, his eyes darting left and right as he tried to find the short girl.

"I... I must've been imagining things..." Kibishin mumbled, as if trying to convince himself before turning around and walking off to find the third shop in the supply section...

' **Kibishin...** ' Eta thought, clutching the hand that he held to her chest. She silently released a breath she did not realize she was holding, her other hand and her back pressed against the cold metal of the wall indent she hid behind.

Eta raised the hand she clutched to her chest, so that it was in her field of vision. The bandages had been undone a little, allowing the tip of her index finger to be visible, her alabaster skin almost glistening from the light.

' **Kibi-kun...** ' she repeated in her head, shortening the pinkette's name to her own nickname for him. ' **I won't forget you...** '

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Welcome, sir! How may I help you?" the rather cheerful NPC asked Kibishin. It was a young woman that wore a white chef uniform and cap. She was actually a Chiss, a species of blue-skinned aliens with humanoid appearances. Her hair was jet black, reaching down past her shoulders and had fully red eyes - the pupils being a lighter shade than the sclera.

"Ano, I'd like to purchase four meals." Kibishin replied, sitting down at the open bar.

"We actually have a few different meal options, umm..." the woman trailed off.

"O-Oh! My bad! My name is Kibishin." Kibishin stated, bowing slightly to the Chiss woman.

"Nice to meet you, Kibishin-san. My name is Aya." the Chiss stated, bowing in response before handing over a menu to the pink haired man.

...

"Aya-san?"  
"Hai?"  
"What do you recommend I should get?" Kibishin asked, causing Aya to hum, tapping a finger on her chin.

"Well... I would suggest..." Aya began.

"Oi, Kibi-chan! What's taking ya so long?" Gokugo called out, running alongside Indra and Asura towards Kibishin. None of the three had the training blade strapped to their backs. Instead, they had lightsabers holstered on their belts.

"Ah, gomen. I was just looking over the menu." Kibishin stated. "Perhaps you guys can look it over and decide what you want. I'm buying."

"Alright!" Indra exclaimed, sitting down in the seat right next to Kibishin, Asura to the left of the former and Gokugo to the right of the latter.

"I'm the chef, Aya! Nice to meet you all!" Aya said, handing three menus to the three newcomers.

"This is Indra to my left, Asura is on the left end, and on my right is Gokugo." Kibishin said, motioning to each person as he said their name.

"Are you ready to order, Kibishin-san?" Aya asked, causing the pinkette to nod.

"Hai. I will have the Shrimpi Ramen." Kibishin replied, handing his menu back to the Chiss woman.

"Excellent choice! I'll be right back!" Aya exclaimed, dashing off behind the door and towards the kitchen.

...

"So how did it go?" Kibishin asked. "Which classes did you guys pick?"

"I chose Sith Juggernaut, the Immortal path!" Indra exclaimed, grinning like a madwoman as she spoke.

"I decided to go with Sith Marauder, Carnage." Asura stated, glancing down at her two lightsabers.

"I'm a Sith Sorcerer. Corruption path." Gokugo simply stated.

"Cool! I haven't chosen my advanced class just yet, so I'll do that after I'm done eating." Kibishin said.

"You better hurry! I wanna see if a double-bladed lightsaber is any more badass than mine!" Indra chirped, pulling out her own weapon. "Check if out! _Lightsaber of Vengeful Mastery_ ~!"

"Okay, here's the Shrimpi Ra-" "*Szhoom*!" "-Wah! *CRASH*!" the female Chiss chef crashed to the ground, startled when Indra ignited her red-glowing lightsaber.

...

"Whoops?"

"Muuuuuuuuu-"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Sorry about earlier..."  
"Ah, it's fine." Kibishin said, waving his hands dismissively, picking up his chopsticks and digging in to his Shrimpi Ramen, comical tears falling down his face.

"Oh come on, it can't be _that_ bad." Aya huffed.  
"I'm just embarrassed by my colleagues, is all." Kibishin replied. "Even after all that, they still left me with the check..."  
"You did say you were paying~" Aya said in a sing-song tone, which only caused Kibishin's comical tears to turn into comical bawling.

He had gone into the open bar shop with at least a thousand Credits...

Now he had a little more than a fourth of that left. The others had quickly ordered and eaten their meals, going off to parts unknown after Kibishin left the party - at his own request, of course...

He needed time to mourn for his Credits.

" **Room for one more?** " Kibishin shot straight up, as if he was just struck with lightning.

"Oh no..." Kibishin muttered, feeling his metaphorical wallet begin to weep.

"Ah, Eta-chan! It's good to see you again!" Aya chirped, giving an eye smile to the mysterious girl as she sat down two seats to the left of Kibishin.

" **You don't mind paying for my meal, do you, Kibi-kun?** " Eta asked, which in turn made the pinkette slam his head against the counter... repeatedly.

Luckily, this was a Sith Empire Safe Zone, so he received no damage from his actions.

"Ah screw it, not like my Credits haven't already taken a beating, might as well give them a proper burial." Kibishin said, his voice muffled from against the counter. "Yeah, sure. I guess..."  
" **Great! I'll take my usual, then. Aya-tan!** " Eta stated.

"One Miso Ramen, coming right up!" Aya said, disappearing once more into the kitchen.

"Miso Ramen? I didn't see that on the menu." Kibishin stated after a few seconds of silence.

" **That's because it isn't...** " Eta replied curtly, the two settling back into silence once more...

...

"So..." Kibishin began, attempting to break the awkward silence that permeated the air. "The Imperial Fleet looks great so far. Nothing like what I thought it would be."

" **Well, what did you expect it to be like?** " Eta asked, the pinkette releasing a mental sigh of relief.

"Something more like the IF from the previous game, SWTOR." Kibishin replied.

" **SW... TOR...?** " Eta mumbled.  
"Yeah, SWTOR. You know, 'Star Wars The Old Republic'." Kibishin said. "The servers went down a year or two ago, I think. But I remember watching a video of a tour of the IF. Even though there was a lot of players, it was huge!" he exclaimed, his chopsticks in one hand as he stretched both his arms out for dramatic effect.  
" **It was that big?** " Eta questioned, kicking her legs back and forth mindlessly.

"I think so, though I don't think it was anywhere near as big as the IF in SWO." Kibishin commented.

"Here's your Miso Ramen, Eta-chan!" Aya exclaimed, coming out from the kitchen with said noodle-based food in a bowl. "If you two need anything else, I'll be in the back."

" **Arigatou, Aya-tan!** " Eta exclaimed, clasping her palms together and bowing slightly, to which the Chiss woman returned with a bow of her own before going off.

'I wonder how she's going to eat-' Kibishin mentally started, only to notice the girl on his mind loosening the bandages around her mouth, licking her round lips as she picked up her chopsticks.

'So that's how...' he thought, mentally picturing a chibi version of himself with crows circling him.

' **Aho~! Aho~!** '

"Ne, Kibi-kun, are you alright?" Eta called out, her voice surprisingly mature with a dash of childishness.  
"Wha - oh! It's nothing, I was just thinking..." Kibishin stated, waving his hands dismissively. "Say... why do you wear those bandages. Actually, _where_ did you get those bandages? And that cloak?"  
"Ah ah ah, that would be telling, Kibi-kun~" Eta said teasingly, almost in a seductive manner. "A girl's gotta have her secrets, ya know."  
"Well, I guess you have your secrets, and I have mine." Kibishin retorted, closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders.

Suddenly, a foreign weight pushed against him... specifically, he felt _two_ round... soft... orbs...

His eyes shot open as he realized what, or rather who, was pressing into his back.

"Of course, I could always be... _persuaded_ to tell you. _If_ you tell me your real name~" Eta suggested, a sultry smirk on her mostly-bandaged face, which was a mere inch away from his own, her warm breath making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"W... Why are you so obsessed with finding out my real name?" Kibishin questioned, a dusting of red on his cheeks as he felt the girl press into him even further.

"Well think about it. We're all stuck in this illusionary world. Names... they're part of what binds us to the real world, something to remind us that... that... we're still us..." Eta stated, pulling back slightly as she spoke.

Kibishin sighed, placing his hand over Eta's retreating hand.

"Maybe someday... Just not today, Eta-san." Kibishin said.

"..." Eta remained silent, pulling her hand out of the pinkette's grip.

"Ne, how about this, Eta-san..." Kibishin started, craning his head to look at the bandaged girl. "We both make it out of this game alive, and I promise you I'll tell you my real name."  
"Really?" Eta asked.  
"Of course, you'd have to promise to tell me _your_ real name too." Kibishin added, a gentle smile on his face.

"... Hai! I promise~!" Eta exclaimed, pulling the bandages around her mouth back up. " **Ja mata!** "

And with that, she quickly spun on her heels and walked away, glancing back at the pinkette once before leaving his sight.

...

"Ah, jeez... my poor Credits..." he muttered, glancing at his almost empty bowl of ramen and then towards a sign that filled him with morbid dread...

"Tips Are Appreciated!"

He knew, without any doubt in his mind, that his Credits would haunt him from beyond the grave.

"Everything alright out here, Kibishin-san?" Aya called out, coming out from the kitchen.  
"Yeah. Thank you for the meal again, Aya-san." Kibishin said, tapping twice on the sign, an action window popping up.

"Give: 150 Credits." he quickly scrolled to 150, pressing 'Yes' to confirm his donation.

Added onto paying for five meals, including his own, that left him with... 50 Credits remaining.

"Arigatou! Please, come back anytime!" Aya exclaimed, waving to Kibishin as he left.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Class Abilities." Kibishin called out, causing a large blue window to pop up.  
"Please select an Advanced Class." There were two options: Sith Sorcerer - the same path Gokugo had taken...

Or Sith Assassin.

"Sith Assassin details."

"The subtle and deadly hand of the Sith Order, a Sith Assassin stops at nothing to win. Assassins leap from the shadows, channeling Force lightning through their dual-bladed lightsabers to disable and drain their enemies. They are masters of subterfuge, treacherous and unseen, feared by even the most terrible opponents. All Sith Assassins use the Force to conceal themselves and move invisibly, as well as learn to use double-bladed lightsabers. In addition, Assassins can opt to study the art of Deception, obscuring their movements and ambushing their enemies; Darkness, bolstering Assassins' defenses as they shock opponents in melee; and Madness, afflicting targets with nightmares that cripple their combat prowess and drain them of strength."

'Hmm... 'Sith Assassin'... Has a nice ring to it.' he thought. 'Stealth and speed would probably be the best choice of actions for me.'

"Selection, Sith Assassin."

"Acknowledged. Please select a Discipline."

"Deception."

Instantly, the Inventory icon in the top of his vision started flashing yellow. He quickly opened a second window, finding that a Sith Assassin Supply Pack had been placed in his Inventory.

"Well, I might as well use the other three while I'm at it." Kibishin mumbled, tapping on all three Grand Packs and the supply pack, causing three small crates and a bag to drop to the ground in front of him. The pinkette then knelt down, opening up the four packages like they were delicately wrapped presents.

"Let's see what we have here..."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" **Eta.** "  
" **Hai, Theta?** "

" **Where have you been? The others and I have been worried.** "  
" **Oh, I just went to that ramen stand, ya know.** "  
" **You know it isn't safe-** "

" **I know, I know! It's just...** "  
" **... Just?** "  
" **No, nothing... nevermind.** "

" **... *Sigh* We have to get going now. Father is waiting for us.** "  
" **Hai...** "

...

" **Eta?** "  
" **Hai?** "  
" **Did you... find... what you were looking for?** "  
" **I... I don't know...** "

Chapter End

* * *

 **Post AN: For those who don't understand the significance behind the crows and 'Aho~! Aho~!', it's the kansai-ben equivalent to the all-purpose insult 'baka'.**

 **And with that, I bid you all good day/night.**

 **-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Dromund Kaas

**AN: Jedi and Sith are not black and white, Dark Jedi and Darth Revan are prime examples. Corruption and morality exist in both factions.**

 **Of course, Jedi are often perceived to be the guardians of peace and justice, with the Sith being the agents of chaos and strife.**

 **Good versus evil...**

 **SWO presented the players the choice between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, with a nearly even split of players on both sides.**

* * *

Chapter Start

 **-Star Wars Online-**

One-hundred World Bosses, one per planet, one to five per system...

One-hundred planets, thirty Sith Empire controlled, twenty-eight Galactic Republic controlled, forty-two neutral planets...

And nearly one million players.

"How hard are the bosses anyways?" Indra questioned, Kibishin shrugging his shoulders in response.

"I don't know. I wasn't one of the Beta Testers who searched them out." Kibishin stated.

"Then what _did_ you do?" Asura asked.  
"Explore." Kibishin replied. "I searched for and found nearly every Datacron on the low-level neutral planets, Republic planets, and even some of the Sith planets too."

"Really? How'd that work out for ya?" Indra asked.

"Got my ass kicked... repeatedly." Kibishin said with a light chuckle. "I was a Jedi Knight at the time, so that didn't help when I tried entering Sith territory."

"Then maybe you can help with my part. Ever been on Dromund Kaas?" Gokugo asked.  
"Yeah. I was able to find the first two Datacrons, but not the third." Kibishin replied.

"When we arrive on the planet, mark them on your map and share it with us." Gokugo said.

"Hai."

"Yosh! Let's get moving then! Onto Dromund Kaas!"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

Dromund Kaas was one of the very, very few Sith Empire-only planets, because despite the fact that it was common knowledge to the players of its location, only Sith Empire players could find it with ease. It was only marked on their maps, and the only way a Galactic Republic player could find it is if they were guided by someone who already knew of its coordinates, take a shuttle from the Imperial Fleet...

Or by sheer luck, as was Kibishin's case.

As for the planet itself, Dromund Kaas was largely covered by jungles, oceans, and swamps - save for the metropolis of Kaas City and other locations on the surface.

NPC Imperial Soldiers remained on guard, cautiously aiming down the iron sights of their rifles, as if some horrendous nightmare from the darkness would begin its assault by jumping out from the thick jungle brush.

"... How is this a good idea?" Kibishin questioned.

"If a Guild can save up enough money, they can buy a Guild Flagship - a _Harrower_ -class dreadnought." Gokugo stated.  
"A dreadnought? How big are we talking?" Kibishin asked.  
"Eight-hundred meters, with fifteen rooms." Gokugo replied, causing Kibishin to whistle.

"Damn..." Kibishin mumbled. "What about ship compliments?"  
"Ninety-five Mk. VI _Supremacy_ -class starfighters, thirty-two B-28 _Extinction_ -class bombers, _and_ thirty-five Imperial Shuttles." Gokugo said.

"Uhh... Is that good?" Indra asked.  
"To put it this way, we'd have our own personal fleet." Kibishin stated.

"Which is why we should make a Guild as soon as possible." Gokugo added. "By the way, dibs on Guild Master."  
"Dibs on Guild Ma - dammit!" Indra exclaimed.

"Dibs on Second-in-Command." Kibishin called out.  
"Dibs on Second-in - fuck!" Indra yelled.

"Alright, enough tormenting Indra." Gokugo said. "We should split up to make this easier. Asura and I will travel to Kaas City and create the Guild. Kibishin, take Indra and do some grinding."

...

It took a good five seconds of silence for Gokugo realize the implications of his statement, and only because he saw the now beet red faces of Kibishin and Indra.

"OH! I mean like for XP, Credits, items and the likes..." Gokugo corrected, scratching the back of his head and awkwardly laughing. "Heh... Asura! To the Taxi!"

"Hai." Asura said, quickly following after the former GM and leaving her sister and the pink haired boy alone...

...

"Excuse me, my lord." a curt, yet polite voice called out. Kibishin and Indra turned to find...

 **\- Cpt. Ajax, Lvl. 12, Hp: 3065/3065 -**

A scrawny brunette NPC that stood at 4'11", with short brunette hair, black eyes, a blaster rifle strapped to his back, and wore an Imperial Officer uniform.

"I could not help but overhear that you were looking to acquire a starship." Ajax stated.

"A starship? We were talking about getting a dreadnought." Indra retorted.

"Yes, yes, I know." Ajax said dismissively. "Nevertheless, I have a proposition for you two..."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"... Asura?"  
"Yes?"  
"Please tell me you're seeing the same thing I am." Gokugo questioned, staring at the blue text window that had appeared in front of him.

 **Quest Added! The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (0/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (0/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (0/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (0/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (0/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 7 Hours, 59 Minutes, 47 Seconds**

The Seconds continued to count down, Gokugo staring blankly at the countdown.

"... Making a Guild shouldn't take _too_ long... right?" Asura questioned.

"No... It shouldn't." Gokugo replied. "Let's hurry so we can help them with this quest. The rewards are too good to pass up on."

"Hai." Asura mumbled, following along after the former GM, who frowned as one thought was present in the front of his mind...

'There wasn't a quest like that before...'

 **-Star Wars Online-**

Indra and Kibishin silently observed three brownish-red creatures from a few yards away, said creatures oblivious to the duo's gaze.

"... Let's go get th-" "Wait." Kibishin interrupted Indra, placing his hand out in front of her to restrain her from charging in. " **Observe**." he mumbled, causing one of the creature's stats to pop up.

 **\- Gundark Juggernaut, Lvl. 11, Hp: 1150/1150 -**

"Inventory." he muttered, summoning forth his Saberstaff.

"Woah..." Indra muttered.

" _Legionnaire Duelist's MK-1 Saberstaff_." Kibishin stated. " **Stealth**." A purple energy coated Kibishin before quickly vanishing... as did the pinkette.

"What the fuck...?" Indra questioned, looking left and right for her partner.

"*SZHOOM*!" Two orange blades of plasma sprung to life between the Gundarks, the pinkette reappearing seconds later. In one swift movement, he slashed at the beasts, slicing off two arms from two different Gundarks, though that only decreased their Hp by 135.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation?!" Kibishin called out, ducking under a clawed slash and slashing at the very ligament that tried to strike him.

"... Right! **Force Charge**!" Indra exclaimed, jumping forward and slashing at one of the Gundarks.

" **Shock**!" Kibishin exclaimed, lightning shooting out from his free hand at the nearest enemy.

...

The trio of Gundarks quickly fell, their Hp dropped down to 0 with the redhaired Sith Warrior and pinkette Sith Inquisitor standing triumphantly over their corpses.

"We should probably hurry up, finish this quest as soon as possible." Kibishin stated.  
"Right." Indra muttered, deactivating her lightsaber. "Ikimashou!"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (0/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (4/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (0/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (0/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (5/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 5 Hours, 43 Minutes, 17 Seconds**

Gokugo's eyes began twitching as he stood in line... a _very_ long line...

A very long line to create Guilds... despite the fact that currently only _five_ players were on this planet at the moment.

How did he know? The planet data that he had.

His Admin privileges might have gone from Level 9 to 1, but that still meant he had _some_ Admin privileges... like knowing just how many players were present on a planet - both Republic and Imperial.

He couldn't search out specific players, but he could still tell how many were on a planet at any given time.

Though the presence of a fifth player concerned him, that was not what was at the forefront of his mind right now.

"WHY IS THIS LINE SO LONG?!" he yelled, comical tick marks on his face and steam coming from his ears.

"Keep it down, bub, would ya? You're not the only one who needs to go to the same place." one of the people in line retorted.

"Gokugo-san?" Asura mumbled.

"You can go on ahead, Asura. Take a Taxi to Outpost Tempest, that's where Indra and Kibishin will most likely be." Gokugo said.

"Hai." Asura replied curtly, running off towards the nearest Taxi.

Gokugo watched the shy redhead leave, frowning as he glanced back at the line he was on, which had barely moved at all.

'How is this happening? This line...

It's all NPCs...'

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (0/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (7/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (0/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (0/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (5/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 5 Hours, 30 Minutes, 25 Seconds**

"*VRAMP* *VVWORP* *VMMMM*!" Indra and Kibishin ducked and weaved in between the Mandalorian Trophy Hunter, cycling back and forth through slashing and dodging, fully exploiting the fact that the NPC's auto-targeting systems would go from one to the other and back faster than it could react.

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (8/8)**

"Yes!" Indra exclaimed, fist pumping into the air.

"Don't get to excited. We still have four more things to take care of." Kibishin stated.

"Right! Let's take out Kregg next!" Indra said, only for the pinkette to grab her arm and stop her from running off.  
"Hold on. Kregg is one of the mini bosses." Kibishin commented. "Not as strong as the World Boss, but still strong enough that we shouldn't try to take him with only two-"

"Hey guys!" the duo turned around, only to find Asura waving at them.

...

"What about now?"  
"I guess we could, but it'd still be difficult." Kibishin said. "Kregg has about 10,000 Hp, give or take a few hundred."

"We can take him on." Indra retorted.  
"Not with brute force." Kibishin stated, holding up one finger in a matter-of-fact manner. "We need a plan."

"How about we-"

"*BOOM*!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" the trio blinked in surprise as a cry for help was heard... very nearby.

"... Anyone else think that the scream had something to do with our objective?" Indra questioned.

"That wasn't the cry of an NPC!" Kibishin exclaimed, drawing his saberstaff and igniting one of the blades, running towards the source of the scream. "Inventory!" he yelled as he ran, bringing up the items he had on his personnel.

"Dammit..." Indra muttered, quickly running off after the pinkette.

"..." Asura remained silent, not a single word leaving her lips as she ran after her sister and Kibishin.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **\- Kregg, Lvl. 11, Hp: 9700/10200 -**

The towering Mandalorian that was known as Kregg continually fired plasma round after plasma round of his cannon at his assailant.

'Keep dodging! Keep dodging! KEEP DODGING!' the player mentally chanted, her rifle having already been discarded in order to increase her mobility.

"Hold still, ya rascal!" Kregg laughed, pausing for a moment with his firing to laugh arrogantly.

"*VWOSH*!" a thrown saberstaff found itself buried into the Mandalorian's heavy cannon, the orange plasma blade cutting into the firing mechanisms and effectively making the weapon useless.

"What the-" Kregg began, only to be knocked back by a wave of Force, which also accidentally knocked back the female player as well.

"So this is Kregg, eh?" Kibishin called out, using the Force to recall his orange-plasma double-bladed lightsaber. "Well, I can't say that you're more intimidating than I expected."

"Grrr..." Kregg growled, dropping his now useless weapon to the ground and pulling out a Vibrosword.

"Let's see if you're any good with that blade." Kibishin stated, igniting his _second_ weapon: a _Gray Helix Saberstaff_ with an Advanced Magenta Outline War Hero's Crystal. A taunting smirk found its way to his face as he held his two half-ignited saberstaff up in an 'X'-crossed formation.

"RRRRRAAAAAAHHH!" Kregg released a war cry, sprinting towards the pinkette with his Vibrosword held high.

"*VRMMMP*!" two flashes of red light slashed through Kregg's torso, leaving glowing scars that had numbers dancing around inside them.

Indra and Asura both had a single lightsaber ignited, the hands they held such weapons in outstretched still from attacking the Mandalorian.

"Why you-!" Kregg started, only to receive an orange and magenta blade slice into his forearms, and a foot buried in his chest seconds later, sending him flying into the ground.

The Mandalorian quickly rolled out of the way, avoiding the very same plasma blades that struck his arms.

"Take this!" Kregg yelled, activating his flamethrower wrist gauntlet and firing a stream of flames at Kibishin, the pinkette releasing a cry of pain as the fire danced across his skin.

 **\- Kibishin, Lvl. 12, Hp: 1874/2500 -**

 **\- Kregg, Lvl. 11, Hp: 7814/10200 -**

"Heh... I like you, kid..." Kregg muttered, staggering to his feet and looking at the pinkette. "You got guts... Too bad I'm gonna have to rip 'em out of ya!"  
" **Electrocute**!" Kibishin exclaimed, a jolt of electricity shooting out at Kregg and stunning him.  
"Gah!" the pinkette Sith Assassin wasted no time in taking advantage of the Mandalorian's stunned predicament, continuously slashing at the towering body while it was still immobilized.

The stun quickly wore off, however, the Mandalorian wildly swinging his Vibrosword at Kibishin, who quickly strafed back to avoid the strike.

Indra and Asura both jumped in and struck again, the former slashing at Kregg's right forearm and the latter at his wrist flamethrower on his left arm.

...

All the while this was happening, the female player stood frozen, mouth agape at the trio of Sith players that had come to her aid.

"Hey." she blinked, broken from her stupor by the pinkette that wielded two saberstaffs. "Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna help us?"  
"Humph! I had it all under control..." she retorted, crossing her arms and turning her head away.  
"Yeah, sure you did." Kibishin said. "Now help us take this guy down, if you'd please, uhh..."

"Sinon."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Ah, finally!" Gokugo yelled, the person in front of him moving off to the side and making him at the front of said line.

"Welcome to the Department of Imperial Registration, how can I help you?" a female monotone voice called out, obviously bored out of her mind or numbed from the day.

"Yes, I would like to create a guild, please." Gokugo stated.  
"What would you like the guild name to be?"

...

"Hmm... how about... 'Shiranai'?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **\- Kregg, Lvl. 11, Hp: 5967/10200 -**

The Mandalorian mini boss breathed heavily, his movements sloppy but still coordinated enough to block most of the incoming attacks.

He'd push back the pinkette's assault, only to be struck by the two redheads and their crimson blades.

Every time he went for one of the latter two, he'd be attacked by Kibishin.

It was a vicious cycle that kept depleting his Health, hundreds at a time.

"Dammit!" Kregg yelled, attempting to activate his wrist flamethrower - only to have it blow up in his face from the damage it took.

That took out at least a sixth of his remaining Health.

"This is it! Don't let up!" Kibishin exclaimed, the four plasma blades becoming no more than a flurry of red, magenta and orange light.

"ENOUGH!" Kregg exclaimed, slamming Indra and Asura aside and slashing at Kibishing, who blocked his Vibrosword with his saberstaffs.

"*SHTOOM*!" the sound of a blaster rifle cut through the air like nails on a chalkboard, three bolts of plasma fired and impacting against the Mandalorian's torso.

Sinon stood off to the side, shakily holding a blaster rifle in her hands, sweat dripping down her pale face, as if she had seen a ghost.

 **\- Kregg, Lvl. 11, Hp: 4108/10200 -**

"You fucking-" "*VRAMP*!" Kregg was interrupted when a magenta blade of plasma slashed in front of his eyes, blinding him when the blade dug through his skin with ease.

The Mandalorian brought up his free hand to cover his wounded face, using his other hand to swing his Vibrosword in front of him wildly.

Indra and Asura charged back in, hacking and slashing at Kregg's sides with renewed vigor.

Added the efforts of Kibishin and Sinon, Kregg's Health soon dropped to less than one thousand.

"Heh... Good fight..." Kregg mumbled, the last of his Health dropping down to zero and his body vanishing in a burst of particles.

 **Quest Update! The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (1/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (8/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (0/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (0/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (5/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 4 Hours, 55 Minutes, 13 Seconds**

"Hell yeah!" Indra exclaimed. "Three down, three to go!"

"What the hell are you people doing here?" Sinon called out, causing all eyes to turn to her. Getting a closer look at the girl, she stood at 5'0" exactly, appearing to be at least thirteen years old. Her dark hair was tied in small ribbons by the side of her face, with the back cut short, and her black eyes filled with a mire of irritation and other emotions.

"We're on a quest. What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Indra retorted.  
"Leveling up! What else?" Sinon exclaimed.

"Against a mini boss, alone? That's practically suicidal." Kibishin commented, causing the dark haired girl to go silent and look down at the ground.

"... Well... hey! Do you want to join our party? It's always better to be in numbers in these kind of situations." Indra asked, extending her hand to Sinon.

...

"Thanks, but no..." Sinon replied, pushing the hand away. "I... I just... can't right now..."  
"Alright then, make sure to take care of yourself then..." Indra said, slowly walking off with Asura in tow.

"Here." Kibishin called out, opening up a trade window and giving Sinon one of his items.

"... What?" Sinon questioned.

"It's one of the items that dropped from Kregg." Kibishin stated. "I'm not so sure how useful it will be for someone like you, but you fought Kregg first, so it's yours."

"I... uhh..." Sinon mumbled, watching the pinkette walk away.  
"Ja mata!" he exclaimed, turning to wave at the dark haired girl before running off after his two red haired companions.

"... _The Headhunter_?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"-Sign here, here, and here." Gokugo's eyes were dull as he signed the electronic form where the woman stated.

"Please tell me that this is the last thing I have to sign..." he pleaded.

"Fortunately for you, it is." the woman said, causing his eyes to light up with hope.

"Does that mean-" "Congratulations, sir. You are now the Guild Master of Shiranai."

...

"YES! Finally!" Gokugo exclaimed. "Now I'm off to Outpost Tempest!"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (1/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (8/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (1/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (15/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (5/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 3 Hours, 57 Minutes, 49 Seconds**

Meanwhile, at the Slave Camps, Indra, Asura and Kibishin made quick work of the Slave Rebels, searching for the Slave Rebel Leaders to finish their quest.

"Hey, you know... I just thought of something." Indra said.  
"What?" Asura questioned.

"It has to do with that grinding comment from earlier." Indra stated. "Is there a... _sex_ simulator for SWO?"

...

"W-What?!" Kibishin exclaimed, nearly tripping over his own feet at the question.

"Think about it." Indra said. "This game was rated CERO C, but who knows what kind of things were implemented by Kayaba."

"T... True..." Asura mumbled.  
"I guess the only way to find out would be to attempt to do the deed." Kibishin stated.

"Well aren't you forward with your intentions~" Indra teased, the pinkette realizing the implications of his statement, his face turning a darker shade of his hair color.

"T-That's not what I meant!" he denied.

"While we're on the topic of what happened previously, what about your two lightsabers?" Asura questioned.

"Oh yeah! What's up with that?" Indra asked.

"You mean this?" Kibishin said, pulling out his second saberstaff and igniting the magenta-colored blade.  
"Where'd you get that?" Indra questioned.  
"It's one of the perks of being a beta tester, I suppose." Kibishin stated. "I was given a free random weapon, color crystal, and pet when I first logged on."

"Really? What kind of pet?" Asura asked.

"Hey! You there!" Kibishin was about to reply, when a voice called out and caught their attention. They turned around and found one of the Slave Rebel Leaders - a tall green Twi'lek man - and six Slave Rebels.

"... I'll tell you when we're done with this quest." Kibishin said, igniting his first blade and using both weapons to charge into the Slave Rebel group.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (2/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (21/24)**

"So that's where they went off to." Gokugo mumbled.

"*SPEEEYOW*!" a red laser shot right past Gokugo's face, missing by mere centimeters.

"HEY!" Gokugo exclaimed.  
"SORRY!" Sinon called out, pointing her newly acquired gun downward, only to have it accidentally discharge once more.

"What are you doing? The safety's on the right side if that's what you're looking for." Gokugo stated.

"I know that! I... I'm just figuring out how to use this weapon..." Sinon muttered, glancing down and inspecting her sniper rifle.

"I see..." Gokugo said, stroking his beard for a few seconds. "Keep your hand off the trigger until you're about to fire, and always keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction, one where a negligent discharge would cause minimum property damage and zero physical injury."

"O... Okay?" Sinon said hesitantly.

"Show me your firing stance." Gokugo ordered, causing the dark haired girl to do so - albeit hesitantly at first. "Not bad... luckily zeroing physics of regular rifles don't apply to SWO. Firstly, press the trigger, don't pull. Press it straight to the rear to the point you start feeling resistance. And never anticipate the shot, that will only lead to inaccuracy."

"Hai..." Sinon mumbled, following the advise that Gokugo had given her and aiming at a nearby Gundark.

"*SHA-BRAK*!" the shot landed a critical and precisely on the creature's head, followed by a consecutive shot that killed the beast.

"Hey... I did it!" Sinon exclaimed.

"There ya go!" Gokugo responded, patting the girl on the back.

"Arigatou, umm..." Sinon started.  
"Gokugo."  
"-Gokugo-san." Sinon finished. "My name is Sinon."

"Nice to meet you, Sinon-san."

"Likewise."

...

"Say, Sinon-san... How would you like to join a guild?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Objective(s):**

 **-Draw Out and Defeat Kregg (1/1)**

 **-Defeat Kregg's Mandalorian's (8/8)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebel Leaders (3/3)**

 **-Defeat Slave Rebels (24/24)**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (0/20)**

 **-Hunt Jungle Beasts (5/5)**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

 ***Quest Must Be Completed In: 0 Days, 3 Hours, 13 Minutes, 35 Seconds**

"Okay, I can understand the Slave Camp and the other places, but why are we here?" Indra questioned.

"I distinctly remember NPCs that were along the lines of crazed soldiers being out here. Demented Archaeologists and Paranoid Soldiers or something like that." Kibishin stated.

"Hmm... Let's hurry along then!" Indra exclaimed, running out with her lightsaber ignited and attacking the first hostile NPC she saw.

...

"I know I've probably asked this already, but is she always like this?" Kibishin queried, walking calmly alongside Asura as they watched Indra leap off and take on any and all enemies, lowering the number of Crazed Soldiers they had to defeat for their quest while doing so.

"Yeah, she's always been a 'shoots first, asks questions later' type of person." Asura stated. "Most people are in disbelief when they learn we're related to each other, let alone twins."

"Meh, can't really blame them. You two are almost polar opposites." Kibishin said, locking his arms behind his head and using them as support.

"She wasn't always like this, but..." Asura whispered, mostly to herself.  
"What?" Kibishin called out, oblivious to the girl's mumbles.  
"No, it's nothing..." Asura replied, shaking her head.

"Hey guys! Are you gonna help or what?!" Indra called out, defeating her ninth Crazed Soldier with a borderline psychotic grin on her face.

"It's kinda hard when you're stealing all the kills!" Kibishin replied.

"Oh? How about a _bet_ then...?" Indra suggested, sauntering over to the pinkette.

"A bet?"

"Yeah, whoever can kill more Crazed Soldiers first wins. There's eleven left so there's no chance it can end up tied." Indra stated.

"What would I be betting then?" Kibishin questioned.

"A favor." Indra replied. "That can be cashed in at anytime... anywhere... for any _thing_..." Each time she paused, she slowly inched closer and closer to the pinkette until finally they were nearly pressed against one another.

"... Indra-"

"I accept." Kibishin responded, turning to Asura. "Can you give us a countdown?"

"I... Hai." Asura replied, holding up both her hands. "Ichi..."

Both Indra and Kibishin stood at the same starting point, the former getting into a running position and the latter pulling out his second saberstaff.

"Nii..."

The redhead and the pinkette both mentally called out passive abilities that gave them buffs, their forms enveloped in red and purple lights respectively.

"San... Hajime!"

And with that, Indra took off running towards the nearest group of enemies she saw, igniting her lightsaber along the way.

" **Force Speed**!" Kibishin called out, running past Indra and the group of hostile NPCs in favor of a group further up, each group consisting of a Crazed Soldier, a Paranoid Archaeologist, and two Hallucinating Scouts.

Only the Crazed Soldiers counted.

" **Overload**!" he yelled, causing the group to fall to the ground stunned briefly. The pinkette quickly stabbed his two saberstaffs repeatedly into the Crazed Soldier, depleting the NPC's health to zero in a matter of seconds before the rest of the group recovered.

Indra finished off the second Hallucinating Scout of her targeted group, leaving only the Paranoid Archaeologist and Crazed Soldier left. She glanced over at Kibishin, only to find that he was ahead of her with one Crazed Soldier defeated.

The redhead turned back to her targets and slashed with even more power and speed than before, determined to win their competition.

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (11/20)**

'Kibishin: 1, Indra: 1...' Asura mentally counted, observing the duo go on their killing sprees.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" Asura turned around to find Ajax slowly walking towards her, his gaze directed at Indra and Kibishin. "Two players with such drive that they push beyond their normal limits in the real world..."

"Uhh... Who are you?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

 **-Defeat Crazed Soldiers (19/20)**

"Alright, how many have you got?"  
"Five. You?"  
"Same." Kibishin replied. "I guess it comes down to who gets the next one..." And with that, his body was enveloped in a purple energy, making him vanish to the naked eye.

...

"Oh that's just unfair." Indra muttered, only to have the inside of her knee kicked, bringing her down to one knee.

"No, _that's_ unfair!" Kibishin corrected, his laughter echoing in her ears. " **Force Speed**!" The faintest outlines of the pinkette could be seen along with a stream of air.

"So you wanna play dirty, eh?" Indra questioned, a smirk appearing on her face. "Fine. Let's. Play. Dirty. **Force Charge**!"

She leapt forward, but instead of aiming at the nearest group, she aimed at Kibishin.

"*BAM*!" the redhead slammed into the pinkette, making the latter visible as they both toppled to the ground.

"Lightsaber throw!" Indra yelled, chucking her ignited lightsaber at the Crazed Soldier, fully expecting the blade to bounce back to her...

"None of us have learned that skill yet." Kibishin commented, struggling to escaped the redhead that sat on top of his back.

"Yeah... probably should have realized that..." Indra mumbled, watching her weapon drop to the ground, hissing as the crimson blade deactivated. "How did you pull it off then?"  
"I just chucked my saber, it hit its mark, and then I used the Force to pull it back..." Kibishin stated, pushing up and knocking Indra down.

"*SZHOOM*!" His orange and magenta blades sprung to life, blocking the two Vibroswords that were poised to strike both Indra and himself.

Indra blinked in surprise, stunned by the sight of how close the crossed blades were.

Sparing no time, Kibishin activated his second half of his orange saberstaff, spinning around and slashing at the Hallucinating Scouts, several slashes proving to do the job and defeating the hostile NPCs.

"I guess this means I win-" Kibishin stated, raising his blades up to strike the Crazed Soldier and Paranoid Archaeologist that remained, only to have four blaster bolts beat him to it.

...

The pinkette remained frozen, almost comically, as he stared at the spots that the two hostile NPCs once stood.

 **Quest completed! The Emperor's Fist!**

"Boom. Headshot." Sinon called out, smoke coming out from the barrel of her sniper rifle.

"I knew you guys were around here somewhere." Gokugo stated, walking alongside the dark haired girl.

"Sinon? What are you doing here?" Kibishin questioned.

"Oh right!" Gokugo exclaimed. "Guys, meet the first player ever recruited into the Shiranai guild, Sinon!"

...

"You named the guild 'Unknown'?" Indra questioned, directing a deadpan stare at the newly-minted guild master.  
"Out of all of what I just said, _that_ is it?" Gokugo comically yelled.

"It's not that bad of a name, I guess. I just thought it be... you know, more badass?" Indra stated.

"We'll get used to the name. Just give it some time." Kibishin stated.

"Now let's invite the rest of you!" Gokugo said, a blue window popping up in front of him.

"Can he join too?" Asura questioned.  
"Who?"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Congratulations." Ajax stated, making his presence known to the entire group.

"Captain... Ajax?" Kibishin questioned hesitantly, slightly on edge at how the NPC had sought _them_ out, instead of the other way around.

"You completed the mission with approximately two hours, fifty-one minutes, and thirteen seconds to spare." Ajax said, slowly circling the five players. "You will be rewarded as promised, how you divide these items amongst yourself is up to you."

...

"You... How are you doing all this?" Gokugo asked.  
"I do not understand, please elaborate." Ajax said.

"NPCs are supposed to be on fixed paths, with a limited set of dialogue and other interactions depending on the quest at hand. That was the guideline Kayaba followed..." Gokugo stated, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the NPC.

"NPCs... Non-Playable Characters..." Ajax mumbled.

" **That's enough, Iota.** " a blue-cloaked figure materialized into existence alongside 'Ajax', standing at 6'3" and the cloak itself adorned with glowing red markings.

"Iota?" Kibishin mumbled.  
"Oh come on, Theta. **Don't go around ruining my fun~** " 'Ajax' stated, his form twisting and contorting until 'Ajax' was no more. The once scrawny Imperial captain was now a black-and-white cloaked that was split down the middle, standing now at 5'7".

" **Father has requested all of our presences... immediately.** " Theta stated.

" **And what about them?** " Iota questioned, motioning to the five players.

" **Give them their provided rewards.** " Theta replied before turning to said players. " **Indra, Asura, Sinon, ex-Game Master Gokugo...** _ **Kibishin**_ **... I suppose congratulations are in order, seeing as how you five are among a select group of individuals that have caught Father's eye.** "  
"Who is this 'Father' you're talking about?" Kibishin asked.

" **... When the time comes, you will each be among the first to receive Aeon Squads.** " Theta stated, raising one hand and tapping the air.

"Aeon Squads? What the hell are those?" Indra questioned.

" **Until next time...** " Theta said, both cloaked figures de-materializing right in front of the five players.

...

 **The Emperor's Fist!**

 **Reward(s):**

 **x1 Starship**

 **x1 Random Pet**

 **x1 Random Weapons Box**

 **x5 Random Packs**

 **x40 Basic Commendations**

"Dibs on the Starship." Kibishin called out.  
"Dibs on the - dammit!" Indra cursed.

"Why the Starship?" Sinon questioned.

"I've already got a pet, my weapons are fine as they are right now, and I have no need for Basic Commendations... yet." Kibishin replied. "Plus, out of everyone here - except maybe Gokugo - I know the Galactic travel routes best."

"Hmm... I guess that makes sense. All I know is the starting planets, and those used provided shuttles to travel." Gokugo said.

"Which one do you want, Asura?" Indra asked.

"I guess I'll take the Random Pet..." Asura mumbled.

"I'll take the Random Weapons Box then." Indra stated.

"And I'll split the Basic Commendations with Sinon." Gokugo stated.

"I'm not so sure... I mean, I didn't really do anything to-" Sinon started.  
"Nonsense! You got the final kill anyways." Gokugo said.

"Let's just distribute the rewards." Indra said impatiently, causing the majority of said items to appear out of thin air, save for one...

"Where's my starship - oh..." Kibishin mumbled, his voice trailing off as the sun was blocked out by a large, descending shadow.

"No way..." Indra muttered, slack-jawed at the sight.

"Damn, so _that's_ what it looks like..." Gokugo said.

"..." Asura was shocked to silence, her mind racing and her tongue failing to express said thoughts.

"W... What is that?" Sinon asked.

"It's... It's a starship..." Kibishin stated, a grin spreading across his face. "My starship."

Chapter Start

* * *

 **Post AN: SAO had a limited amount of resources in the world. Not so limited that starvation was evident in the years, but still enough to worry many players during the start that realized that all the good hunting grounds would soon be plucked clean.**

 **How far will resources be depleted in SWO though?**

 **-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Nal Hutta and the Fury

**AN: I forgot to mention this, but to those who wish to submit a character, PMs are preferable, but leaving them in reviews is also acceptable.**

 **Also, as of now, I will be trying to make these chapters epic length, explore the experiences of different characters and planets and whatnot, but I will only make reference to canon characters when they are encountered, I won't focus on players like Kirito and Asuna as much as I will Kibishin and other OCs.**

 **Anyways... Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Start

 **-Star Wars Online-**

It was said by Kayaba Akihiko during an interview about SWO that as the player leveled up, more planets would be unlocked and visitable. He went on to say that this could be bypassed _if_ the player bought their own starship...

Though the standard starship with a hyperdrive unit capable of travel between systems in the galaxy was quite... expensive, the cheapest being 550,000 Credits that could carry only a single pilot and an astromech droid, with a speed of only half a parsec per hour.

But the starship that Kibishin and the others were staring at was _not_ that.

"Oh my God..." Gokugo mumbled, glancing back at Kibishin. "Dude! That's a _Fury_!"  
"A what?" Indra questioned.  
"A _Fury_ -class Imperial Interceptor!" Kibishin exclaimed, his eyes sparkling like he had just received the greatest gift for his birthday.

"Shiranai's _Fury_?" Gokugo suggested, causing the pinkette to turn towards the older male.

" **My** _Fury_."

Back during the days when servers for Star Wars: The Old Republic were still online, _Fury_ -class transports were given to Sith Warrior and Sith Inquisitor players as their bases of operations throughout important missions they were assigned on.

100 meters long, 88 meters wide, and 33 meters high, it could house a crew of twelve. It housed two escape pods, main and secondary engine rooms, a meditation room, a galley/recreation room, combat training and exercise room, two common rooms - one that could lead to a turret on the bottom of the ship and the other to a turret on the top of the ship, a player's and captain's quarters, a bridge, a conference room, a bathroom/showers room, crew quarters with double bunks, a medical bay, a cargo bay that could carry nearly all types of supplies, a vehicle bay that could hold up to four 74-Z speeder bikes - which came complimentary with the ship - and an airlock that also doubled as the main entrance/exit to the starship.

To top it all off, the Imperial interceptor had four high powered laser cannons, two on each of the far ends of the wings, missile pods that were capable of firing off four missiles at once, military grade shielding that could regenerate from depleted to fully charged in five seconds flat, and an engine capability of 1.5 parsecs per hour.

All in all, its worth on the market was 250,000,000 Credits, enough to buy not only a Guild Bank, but _two_ Guild Flagships with almost all the rooms unlocked.

"... Is it too late to-" "Yes." Kibishin interrupted. "This is _my_ ship." he stated, walking towards the _Fury_ -class interceptor with the others quickly following suit.

"*SSZZZHH*!" a hissing sound came from the starship's entrance as it de-pressurized, the walkway opening up seconds later.

" **Which one of you organic lifeforms is 'Kibishin'?** " a synthetic, male voice called out.

"Umm... That would be me." the pinkette replied. A light blue droid with red markings and red eyes walked down from inside the ship, making its way towards Kibishin.

" **Greetings, master! I am 2V-Seneschal-series factotum droid R8, but you may call me 2V-R8!** " the droid exclaimed. " **I am tasked with personal etiquette and starship upkeep, as well as being programmed with extensive knowledge of Imperial starship design, making me capable of performing advanced maintenance and upkeep, which includes everything from cleaning the ship's fuel injectors to dusting the crew's personal quarters.** "

"A pleasure to meet you, R8. As you already know, I am Kibishin. These are my companions: Indra, Asura, Gokugo, and Sinon." Kibishin stated.

" **Greetings, meatbags.** " 2V-R8 stated dully, causing the four players to facefault.

"Well! What are we waiting for?" the pinkette exclaimed, clasping his hands together and rubbing them eagerly. "Let's have a look inside."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

Clean and neat. That was the best way to describe the interior of the _Fury_ -class interceptor. The floor was padded with square heat-and-cold-resistant steel tiles, the same material made up the walls and ceiling, the edges of said tiles emitting a light blue glow that lit up the room. On either side of the room was a set of stairs that descended into a lower level of the ship.

" **As you can see, master, meatbags, this starship is in pristine condition for cleanliness.** " 2V-R8 said. " **The two stairways lead to the vehicle bay and cargo bay respectively, with platforms that can lower to a maximum of fifteen meters at a speed of one-and-a-half meters per second. Both bays connect by a door on the lower level, and there is a second door in the vehicle bay that will lead to the lower turret.** "

"I'll check those out later." Kibishin said. "Say, R8, do you happen to know what time it is right now?"  
" **The local time on Dromund Kaas is 12:05, but the Galactic Standard Time is 21:05, master.** " 2V-R8 replied.  
"Close enough for me. Where are my quarters?" the pinkette questioned.

" **Right this way, master.** " 2V-R8 stated, guiding his master into the next room.

"Really, Kibishin? You're really going to sleep _now_?" Indra asked, the other four players following after the NPC droid and pink haired Sith Assassin.  
"None of us have gotten a lot of sleep in for the past three days." Kibishin stated. "And I plan to get a good rest in before I crash and burn, I suggest you guys do the same if you so wish."

...

" **And here is the first common room, your quarters are the leftmost door, master.** " 2V-R8 said, the pinkette quickly walking towards the door, pausing only when he realized one crucial fact...

"Uhh... how do I open these doors?" he asked, laughing sheepishly and scratching the back of his neck.

" **The doors are activated by control panels on the left, master.** " 2V-R8 replied.

"Right! I'm out!" Kibishin exclaimed, the door to his quarters sliding open and closing when the pinkette was inside.

...

"... I guess getting some sleep in isn't such a bad idea." Gokugo said.

"Screw that! Does this place have a shower of any kind?" Indra questioned.

" **I guess perhaps just this once I will show you meatbags where the crew quarters and bathrooms are.** " 2V-R8 stated, walking ahead of the four players and out towards the bay area, said players following shortly after in hopes of rest and relaxation.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Huh. Neat..." Kibishin muttered, looking around at his personal quarters.

The walls were red, with yellow-orange lighting that made the room have almost a 'warm' feeling, contrary to the metallic grey walls and blue lights in the other parts of the ship. Instead of a cold, hard, metallic floor, there was a plain white carpet.

The room itself was large enough to hold a book/trophy shelf, a fridge that was somewhere between mini and regular in size with what appeared to be a microwave on top, a dark oak dresser, and a king-sized bed with red-and-black vertical-striped sheets and dark red pillows.

The pinkette wasted no time in pulling up his character window and moving his items into his inventory, the armor on his body vanishing into light pixels until he was left wearing red-trimmed black boxers with the Sith Empire insignia in white on the front left.

"I'll just..." he mumbled, crawling under the sheets and finding the red-themed bed to be very... very... comfortable...

"Zzzzzzzzzzzz..." Kibishin immediately fell asleep, a combination of his exhaustion and the silky sheets to be enough to knock him out in seconds.

The pinkette didn't even hear when the sound of giggling filled the room.

Eta found it adorable that Kibishin immediately went straight for the bed, ignoring her not-so-hidden presence completely in one of the corners of the room.

He didn't even bother to turn off the lights first.

" **Kibi-kun... ne?** " Eta spoke to herself, her tattered maroon cloak dropping down to her feet before she began to unravel her bandages.

She giggled once more, stepping out of the pile of bandages that surrounded her, reaching for the control panel and dimming the lights, her naked alabaster skin and bright golden blonde hair almost emitting a glow in the darkness.

The mysterious girl then sneakily made her way over to the sleeping pinkette, pulling the sheets up slightly and worming her way underneath. Her hand brushed over Kibishin's hair, her delicate fingers playing with the pink locks of hair while a smile found its way to her face.

Eta inched herself closer and closer until she was pressed up against Kibishin, the warmth his body gave off causing her eyes to droop ever so slightly.

A content sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, hugging the half-naked pinkette like a teddy bear and allowing the sandman to lull her to sleep.

She planned to enjoy this while she could, before the chaos ensued...

Before everything went to hell.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"These are the crew quarters?" Indra questioned, almost in disbelief.

" **Yes, meatbags.** " 2V-R8 replied.

While the condition of the room was not outright deplorable, it was not five-star hotel quality. There were five bunk beds - three on the left and two on the right. Each bed had dark blue sheets and a single white pillow, and for every bunk bed there was a nightstand...

And a mint on each pillow. How nice.

" **The showers are in the next room over, meatbags.** " 2V-R8 stated. " **Do you have any more questions?** "  
"Yeah, just one." Gokugo said. "Can you pilot this ship?"  
" **Of course I can, meatbag. However, my capabilities do not cover combat flying. I was not designed to pilot a ship into battle.** " 2V-R8 responded.

"Then why don't you move us out of this valley and to somewhere less conspicuous?" Gokugo asked.  
" **Negative, meatbag. Unless told otherwise, I will only respond to my master's orders.** " 2V-R8 retorted before promptly walking out of the room.

"... Fuck it. I'm getting some sleep." Gokugo mumbled, quite literally collapsing onto one of the bunks, which were surprisingly more comfortable than they appeared to be...

He was lights out in a matter of seconds, a tag team of physical and mental exhaustion taking its toll on the man.

...

"M-Might as well get a shower in too, while we're at it." Asura said, making her way across the room and towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Indra conceded, following after her sister shortly after.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

Nal Hutta, or Hutta, as it was commonly referred to as, was the capital of Hutt Space, the adopted homeworld of the notorious Hutt Cartel. It was a planet of semi-toxic swampland broken up by industrial facilities and urban centers...

One would never find a more wretched hive of scum in the galaxy. The fact that it was the starting planet for Imperial Agents and Bounty Hunters did nothing to deny this stereotype.

And on this planet, in its capital Bilbousa, one could find a livelihood of colorful merchants, mercenaries, gangs and the likes, as well as the rich upper class hidden behind the closed doors of luxurious mansions and estates, at least those that decided to take up a residency on Hutta.

Originally, in SWTOR, Bilbousa appeared more swamp-like and smog-filled from natural toxins in the air, but in SWO, it was an entirely different story...

The smog was still there, except it was more due to the industrialized areas of the city, the city itself being ten times the original size it was before, limestone-like pavement and buildings, factory buildings, underground cantinas, abandoned buildings... Even some more vile buildings were on display.

But more importantly, in the heart of the city, there was an arena, a coliseum of sorts. The rich upper class, as well as the majority of the middle class merchants and tourists, frequented the viewing stands of the arena, placing bets on fighters or simply watching the carnage that unfolded in each fight.

'Two things only the people anxiously desire - bread and circuses' was etched into the fighters' entrance into the arena, as a solemn reminder that they were merely entertainment in a gruesome, ever-changing, bloody sport.

" _ **Brac, jetar madle?**_ (Why, meat maggot?)" the Trandoshan warrior, **Rakta the Fearsome** questioned, towering above the Bounty Hunter-class player by a good ten, eleven inches, at 6'8".

"I have nowhere to go, no clue what to do..." he mumbled, his eyes glazed over with a dead look. "I just... I just need something - _anything_ \- to be my purpose."

" _ **Byager. Ashkrik, hak davjaan inyameet... lu mi lowe ink byager.**_ (Victory. To bleed your foes dry, burning in the blood... never give up our victory.)" Rakta the Fearsome responded, clearing his throat slightly before speaking again...

" _ **What. Is. Name?**_ " Rakta asked, barely forming a sentence in a language he understood, though he still knew what he was trying to say.

He cast his eyes upward, staring into the Trandoshan's eyes. Standing at 5'9", he had short black hair with hazel eyes and a slightly Asian appearance, despite being of Canadian nationality. While his original avatar had a more muscular build, his real body was built more lean. His outfit consisted of simply the starting armor that was provided to every player.

"Jaylan." he replied, causing Rakta to 'tsk' before turning away, grabbing a weapon off the wall and tossing it to Jaylan.

" _ **Take. It.**_ " Rakta said.

"O-Okay..." Jaylan muttered, gazing at the weapon that was tossed to him...

It was a vibrosword fashioned into the shape of a katana, scabbard and all. The blade was a polished metal, one that he could not recognize offhand, and the sheath was pure black in color, with an orange and yellow flame design licking at the bottom of it. Etched into the scabbard was Mandalorian writing - ' **Tal, Tor, Kote** (Blood, Justice, Glory)'.

" _ **Try. Not... Die.**_ " Rakta stated, walking away from the shocked nineteen-year-old player.

"New guy, eh?" Jaylan turned his head slightly to glance at the owner of said voice, a female Chiss.

One of the playable avatar types was Chiss, a tall, humanoid species that was known for their jet black hair, fully red glowing eyes, and blue pigmented skin.

This woman, however, seemed a bit more... unique.

Her blue-pigmented skin seemed to be a slightly lighter shade of blue than the average Chiss, as well as dark blue hair done up in a bun with black-tipped bangs framing either side of her face, fully red eyes that held a slight glow, and a slender build. She stood at the same height he did, 5'9", donning gladiatorial armor that was clearly meant more for cosmetics (Read: Fanservice) than protection, consisting of a silver-like metal bikini top, metal arm bracers, metal high heels, and a tan loincloth that shielded her nether region from view from both the front and the back, splitting on either side of the front to show off her smooth, blue legs...

It would have been likely he would have continued staring, had he not found himself at the business end of a spear.

"My eyes are up here, sweetheart." she said, a sly grin on her face despite having just threatened him not even a minute ago...

But that's not what caught his attention. No, what caught his attention was the orange diamond above her head.

"You're a player too..." Jaylan stated more than asked.

"Yep!" she replied cheerfully. Almost a bit _too_ cheerfully. "I've been here ever since Day One!"

Day One...

Noticing the frown beginning to form on Jaylan's face, she lightly nudged him, catching his attention.

"The name's Cypersix..." she said, giving the man a genuine smile. "You can call me Cy, Cyper or Six though."

"Jaylan..." he responded, a small smile of his own appearing on his face.

...

" **Hey rookie!** " a new, synthetic voice called out, catching both players attention as a cybernetic human approached them. " **You're up!** "

Cypersix took a sharp intake of air, making an audible hissing noise.

"Heh. Just your luck Jay." Cypersix stated. "Not even a few minutes here and you're already scheduled for a fight."

"Wait, what?" Jaylan questioned dumbfounded.

"You're up for the next fight. You've got five, ten, maybe even fifteen minutes before the fight going on now is finished, another five for bets to be made and for the losers to be, uhh... cleaned up." Cypersix replied, motioning to the cybernetic human. "Jaax here will take you to the armory and then to your entrance to the arena."

" **C'mon, I don't have all day here.** " Jaax stated, turning around and walking away, not even bothering to look to see if Jaylan was following.

"Might wanna follow him fast, he won't hesitate to leave you behind." Cypersix said, resting her head on the spear as support with a grin etched on her face. "Make it out alive, will ya?"

"... I'll try." Jaylan responded, turning and following after Jaax...

And for the first time since Day One, he felt a determination to live on.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"I feel ridiculous." Jaylan mumbled, shifting around uncomfortably in his new 'battle gear'.

Turns out, perversion in the audience went both ways. Every fighter, regardless of species or gender, was subject to the _very_ few rules that existed in the arena...

Rule Number One: Unless told otherwise by the Munerator, _all_ fights were to the death.

Rule Number Two: Fighting is reserved for the arena and _only_ the arena. All fights outside the arena are punishable by the heaviest penalties.

Rule Number Three: All gladiators are restricted to melee weapons only.

And lastly...

Rule Number Four: Cater to the crowds.

That last rule mainly meant that the armor that they wore was mostly for show, rather than for actual protection...

He was having second thoughts as he adjusted the outfit he currently wore, consisting solely of a circular metal right shoulder guard, what he assumed were leather forearm bracers, leather sandals... and a tan loincloth that barely reached his knees.

He was still shivering slightly from the cold breeze that danced on by a minute ago.

" **Look, mate, I'll be blunt with ya.** " Jaax started. " **You don't really look like you're gonna last out there. Maybe you have a chance, but... well, it's a bit too late to, you know, back out.** "

"I know." Jaylan responded, fingering the sheathed Vibrosword in his hands.

" **Step onto the platform. You've got less than a minute before you're fight begins.** " Jaax said.

"Any advice on my opponent?"

" **Yeah. Try not to die.** "

" _Okay_..." Jaylan muttered, stepping onto the platform seconds before it began to ascend.

" **Good luck, mate.** " Jaax called out.

...

"Hey Jaax!" Jaylen exclaimed. "If I die, let it be known that my only regret is wearing this skimpy outfit!"

" **Pffffft!** "

He was not laughing, he kept telling himself. But to anyone passing by, Jaax was on the floor busting a gut.

" **Kid's got moxie... Too bad it's gonna be torn out his stomach.** "

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" _ **Weeeeeeeeeeeeeelcome ladies and gentlemen or otherwise miscellaneous creatures!**_ " The roar of the crowd was nearly deafening, the announcer's voice booming even louder than their cries.

Gamorreans, Chiss, Cathars, humans, hell there was even a Wookie in the opposite corner of the arena. Four-dozen gladiators total, including himself...

All of whom were male, carrying weapons, and wearing scantily-clad armor, if it could even be called such.

" _ **These forty-eight contenders will take part in our special melee madness tournament!**_ " The forcefield suddenly sprung to life, dividing the rather spacious arena into four sections, nearly bisecting three gladiators and actually killing a fourth.

" _ **Oh! And that's one gladiator down already! Poor bastard - A-Anyways, these forty-seven gladiators will fight to the death! All bets are final! No refunds, no pulling out now!**_ "

" **Boska schuttas! Je buttmalia Creedas porko tah bu newpa bukee!** (Let's go bitches! I bet big Credits to the new boy!)" one of the Hutt audience members cried out, waving down at Jaylan when the player noticed him.

" **Nyeta ashuna nekkel juuvar obwegadada! Hkeek nkulla!** " a Jawa cursed, 'politely' telling the Hutt to "go fuck himself," or something along those lines...

Surprisingly the creature still kept its head. The arena was the one place that could be defined as a meeting of worlds, so to speak. A single bet could make or break a person, send them from rags to riches or riches to rags...

And apparently he had the backing of a Hutt.

...

He didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" **Penny for your thoughts?** " Cypersix perked up as Jaax called out to her, breaking her from her stupor as she stared at the live Hologram feed of the soon-to-commence tournament taking place above them.

"Just watchin' the tournament is all..." Cypersix stated halfheartedly.

" **Ah banthashit.** " Jaax retorted, crossing his arms and leaning against a nearby wall.

"..." Cypersix remained silent, turning back to observe the holographic display with nary a word.

" _ **Now! Without further delay! Five! Four-!**_ "

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" _ **-Three!**_ "

His heart was pounding in his chest, the roaring crowds silenced by its steady rhythms.

" _ **-Two!**_ "

Was this real? Was this his reality? Was this actually about to happen? Fighting in a life-or-death situation against others, possibly other players?

" _ **-One!**_ "

This was it! He wouldn't have any more time to think about it. If he hesitated, he would most certainly be killed...

" _ **BEGIN!**_ "

The other eleven warriors dashed after each other, one of whom immediately ran towards Jaylan - a Cathar, NPC if the lack of a diamond hovering above his head was any indication - wielding a curved vibrosword raised above his head.

Jaylan rolled to the left, dodging the rather cumbersome strike only to be met with a backhand to the face. He was sent sprawling to the ground by the very warrior he had attempted to avoid, a sharp edge in the Cathar's eyes as centuries upon centuries of warrior instinct took hold...

Panicking, Jaylan brought his vibrosword up, sheath and all, slamming the weapon into the Cathar's skull with enough force to nearly send the sheath flying off.

"GAH!" the Cathar cried out, bringing up his free hand to massage his pulsating bruise. With adrenaline now coursing through his body, Jaylan grasped the end of his vibrosword's sheath, pulling the blunt coating off and revealing the sharpened and tempered blade.

The next few moments became a blur to him, almost as if it wasn't his own actions, but that of a choppy first-person perspective animation like on MeTube.

His vibrosword still raised high, Jaylan slashed at the warrior standing over him, eliciting a gurgled cry of pain from the Cathar as blood seeped from the recently-inflicted wound on his neck, slit in such a way that the dark-red substance that made up life not only poured outward, but also inward, filling his lungs with blood with each passing second.

The Cathar dropped to his knees, clutching his neck as the light faded from his eyes...

Jaylan could only stare in shock.

'W... What have I done?' he thought to himself, panting and watching in horror as the Cathar warrior slowly died... by his hands.

He was numb. Real or not, it felt like he had taken a life for the very first time...

He didn't even acknowledge the searing pain on the side of his head, nor the warm liquid that oozed from the very same area...

Nor did he acknowledge when the Cathar's eyes widened at seeing the inscription etched into the vibrosword.

"Y... You..." the Cathar whispered, wincing at the pain that came with every syllable. " _Evaar'la Verd_ (Recruit)."

...

"W-What?" Jaylan managed to muster, the bloody battle raging onward around them.

" _Aliit ori'shya_... _tl'din_... (Family is more than... bloodlines)" the Cathar said before hocking up a glob of blood. " _Gar su'cuyi_... _ni kyr'adyc_... _Gar partayli_ , _ni darasuum_ (You are still alive... but I am dead... Remember me, so that I am eternal)."

And with that, the Cathar moved its right hand to Jaylan's face, a lone claw extending out of his index finger as he carved a strange symbol into the player's left cheek, shallow enough to not cause permanent damage yet deep enough to leave a scar.

" _Mhi Mando'ade tome_ , _ner vod_... _Nu kyr'adyc_ , _shi taab'echaaj'la_... (We are children of Mandalore, my brother... Not gone, merely marching far away)" the Cathar finished, unable to speak any longer as he gasped for air, eyes unmoving and his final breath escaping his body seconds later...

The body began to dissolve into bright particles, leaving no trace of there ever being a death save for a single item...

It was at this time that he was reminded that he was in the middle of a free-for-all battle to the death as he narrowly dodged having his left arm ripped off by a battle mace, leaving instead only a small scratch by comparison, the sharpened points on the weapon tearing off a chunk of his shoulder the size of a golf ball.

"FUCK!" Jaylan cursed, biting his lower lip and gripping his vibrosword's sheath tightly. He raised his katana up and blocked the mace before it could slam into his skull, his gaze meeting his opponent's - a Gamorrean by the looks of it...

He didn't even bother to hesitate this time, sweeping his enemy of his feet using his blade's sheath. Before the Gamorrean could react, gravity took effect, his skull slamming into the ground along with the right side of his body.

Jaylan's katana pierced through his skull shortly after, granting the Gamorrean at least a swift and painless death.

... Two dead. By his hands no less. Even if they were NPCs, it still did nothing to ease his mind.

Burying those thoughts for now, Jaylan looked around at the section of the arena he was in. Of the twelve that had originally been competing, only three remained, including himself: a Chiss and a human like himself, the former wielding a vibrospear and the latter a vibrosword fashioned into the shape of a spatha and a circular shield.

The human warrior immediately charged towards the Chiss, perceiving him to be the greater threat that needed to be dealt with of his two opponents. The Chiss spun, using his momentum to slam one end of his spear into the human, only for the vibrospear to clang against his shield.

...

As their battle waged on, Jaylan took a moment to catch his breath, carefully eyeing the two adversaries as they remained mostly ignorant of him.

The very moment one fell, he would swoop in for the kill...

At least, that was the plan.

The Chiss warrior quickly fell dead, the human warrior pulling his blade from the blue-skinned alien's chest and casting his gaze towards Jaylan...

And immediately tossed his shield off to the side, catching Jaylan off-guard.

"A good death." he simply said. "Live by the blade... die by the blade."

"Bushido..." Jaylan muttered, fully understanding what his opponent was aiming at...

From what he could understand about the Japanese warrior's code of honor, his opponent wished to make a spectacle of one of their deaths...

A fiery determination was kindled in Jaylan's eyes as he tossed his scabbard aside, grasping his vibrosword firmly with both hands.

'For honor...' he thought, releasing a battle cry as he charged at the human warrior, who in turn ran towards him with a battle cry of his own...

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" **Heh. Not bad for his first time in the arena.** " Jaax stated, watching the arena deathmatch alongside Cypersix.

"He still froze up near the beginning." Cypersix countered.

" **Yeah but not all of us can be stone-cold killers just like that.** " Jaax retorted, snapping his fingers near the end of his statement.

...

"Hey how come you're not up there today?"

" **Don't you remember? This is the rookies tournament. You know, get some new faces, some fresh bloods for the crowds to eat up.** "  
"Oh right. Forgot that... baka."

" **Who are you calling baka, baka?!** "

"Humph!"

" **...** "  
"..."

" **...** "

"... Baka."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"*CLACK* *CLANG*!" The two blades clashed against each other in a flurry of movement, neither warrior budging the slightest, even as small cuts from their strikes began to liter their bodies.

Then, just as fast as their movements began, their blocks and counter-strikes were broken when Jaylan pushed his opponent back slightly, taking advantage of the opening in his enemy's defense and delivering a kick that sent him flying a few yards back.

Jaylan himself jumped back a few yards as well, giving him space between himself and the warrior that meant to end his life.

...

The crowds roared in excitement, to the point that Jaylan could barely hear himself think. Amidst the cheers he could hear a few booing, but those paled in comparison to the former.

Raising his sword up, once more grasped firmly with two hands, Jaylan charged towards his opponent, still slightly dazed from the kick he received.

The warrior tried to slash at him, but Jaylan twirled to the side, moving his blade so that it would make contact with his opponent's torso...

"*SHIIING*!"

Jaylan and the human warrior both froze, but for different reasons. The former was striking a pose kneeling with his sword extended and the latter...

"GHH!" Blood shot out from the warrior's torso, a horizontal gash going all the way from one end to the other.

Time began to move once more, the warrior dropping to the ground dead and dissolving into particles with Jaylan standing triumphantly in victory...

...

" _ **THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! Our four champions in the arena!**_ " the announcer yelled. " _ **Thanks for coming out everyone! Let's have one last round of applause for our newest gladiators!**_ "

Jaylan walked over to the spot where the Cathar warrior had died and picked up the item that was dropped, a strange, smooth cube of stainless steel that burst into particles the very moment he held it up for inspection.

" **Congratulations! You received x1 Clan Ordo Shoulder Tattoo!** " was the textbox that opened up, along with a smaller box underneath it with a choice...

" **Do you wish to equip? Y/N.** "

"... Equip."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"So this is it, huh?"

"Yeah."

Two players stood at the base of the stairs of an ancient building dubbed 'The Forge'. The first was a young man, seventeen years of age that stood at 5'8" and had a mop of blond hair cut short, dark blue eyes, and wore the standard starting garb of a Jedi Knight class. The second was a fourteen year-old boy, garbed in the same outfit, stood three inches shorter than his companion, at 5'5" with neat black hair and black eyes, and a face that showed no trace of masculinity whatsoever.

"Welcome to The Forge." the second player said.

In Star Wars The Old Republic, the predecessor to Star Wars Online, The Forge was significant in that it meant a player was strong enough to leave the starting planet for Jedi Knights and Jedi Consulars, Tython. It was a place where Jedi Padawans would go to construct their first lightsabers, meaning they were responsible enough to wield one, strong of mind and body, and having proven their prowess to their teachers...

This did not accurately apply to players, however.

"So let me get this straight..." the first player began. "Right after we construct our lightsabers... we have to face a mini-boss?"

"Hai, the **Forge Guardian**." the second player stated. "But you aren't limited to just lightsabers if you were a Beta."

"Wait, what?! What other types of weapons can be made?!" the first player exclaimed.  
"Double-bladed lightsabers - including the spinning ones, lightsaber-blaster hybrids, shoto-style lightsabers, and a few others I've heard." the second responded.

"Damn! And this is only for Betas?"  
"Well, Betas get first picks in the beginning is all. Normal players can unlock the schematics and build them on their own with their own parts or free of charge here."  
"How... How do you know all of this stuff, dude?"

"Gamer magazines, guides, those kinds of things."

"So what kind of lightsaber are you gonna make?"

"Well... I guess you'll just have to wait to find out, Dann." the second player stated mysteriously, grinning as he walked up the steps of the ancient building.

"Tch..." Dann grunted, though the smile on his face said otherwise about his attitude towards the response.

He was actually very fortunate to run into his partner, and would have not found The Forge in the first place were it not for him.

The kid was also actually pretty damn good with a blade too, despite his young age. And Dann was certain, without a doubt...

Kirito was destined for great things.

Chapter End

* * *

 **POST AN: Four more OCs have been introduced, as well as another main character. Sorry this chapter took a bit, but I stress the fact that I've been busy with other things.**

 **And also, before you start with me on how easily the gladiators died, there is a reason for that. My own twist on something that was in Sword Art Online, something that is big yet small, living yet with no life, an unknown force that can be a double-edged sword...**

 **The question that will soon need to be answered is... well, I think it's a bit too early to ask that.**

 **Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Ja mata!**

 **-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Forging a Reason to Live

**AN: It is now officially the fourth quarter of my high school senior year... I honestly can't believe college is so close now. I mean seriously! It's almost surreal to me.**

 **But enough of the shitstorm that is my life. I've actually spent a good deal of time researching the possibilities of the Star Wars universe...**

 **Like weapons! Guess what? There are things that aren't lightsabers, yet equally if not more badass.**

 **In example, the Nightsister Energy Bow, which is basically a bow that shoots fucking pure plasma. Or a lightwhip, which is the lightsaber version of a whip. Or those shields used by the Knights of Zakuul from the Knights of the Fallen Empire SWTOR expansion.**

 **On top of this, I was also researching potential planets to be used. After all, I need 100 of them...**

 **Anyways, read and review and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Start

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"*GASP*!" Kibishin jolted up with a sudden shock, the feeling of cold air brushing against his skin being a surreal feeling.

The first thing that he noticed was where he was, or rather, where he was not.

Instead of the red walls and yellow-orange lights of his quarters, he found himself inside of an ancient room. The carved stone tiles on the walls had cracks and vegetation growing out of it, hiding bits and pieces of the hieroglyphic-like symbols and images that were present with missing or obscured or dimly lit areas. In fact, the only source of lighting for the room seemed to be a lone torch that danced around and cackled every few seconds.

The next thing that he took note of was his Head's Up Display, something that made him very concerned. His avatar status was hidden, including his Health and other options.

"Inventory." Kibishin said, releasing a breath that he held when the blue-tinted box popped up. Everything he had from before was still in his inventory, including his clothing, weapons, and the likes.

Finally, the last thing he noticed, something that he had nearly neglected...

He was still in his underwear.

...

"What the hell?" he mumbled, having equipped his Neophyte clothing and was about to equip his double-bladed lightsabers when...

" **You cannot equip this item.** "

If he wasn't panicking before, he was now. Kibishin tried to equip them again and again and again, even testing to see if he could equip his Sith Training Blade, but found that even that item could not be equipped.

Never in his time during the Beta did he encounter an area that wouldn't allow him to equip weapons. It was preposterous, unfathomable, _unthinkable_! There were certainly no reports of an incident like this before by any of the other Beta Testers, and they _had_ to report when bugs in the game popped up, even if it was the smallest glitch.

A subtle glint flashed in the corner of his eye, luring his gaze towards the lone torch that lit the room. It flashed again, indicating that it was an actual item instead of a background object.

...

Perhaps... Perhaps there _was_ a reason he couldn't equip his weaponry, and not just a bug or a glitch.

He walked over to the metallic frame-like pedestal that held the torch, reaching out and grasping the burning wooden stick in his hands and pulling it out of its lodging.

" _ **This way...**_ " an almost ethereal wisp of wind called out to him, its voice soft and silky yet familiar all wrapped up in one.

Someone or some _thing_ was calling out, beckoning him to advance out of the crypt-like room he was in.

Against his better judgment, Kibishin slowly made his way out of the room, marching onward into the darkness and unaware of what lay ahead...

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Kirito!" Dann exclaimed, his back to The Forge and his eyes trained on the approaching creature. "Hurry up in there!"

"Give me a minute!" Kirito responded from the top steps, his weapon of choice being built by the Force in front of his very own eyes.

"We don't have a minute!" Dann retorted, watching the beast that guarded this ancient construct approach.

The **Forge Guardian** was a Jurgoran, a large, amphibious animal with black eyes and green-and-yellow skin that was native to Dromund Kaas. How one made its way to Tython was a mystery, but one thing was for certain...

It was larger than the average Jurgoran. And while it originally had a buff called "Larger" in SWTOR, its size was the same as other Jurgorans in the game.

That appeared to have been one of the changes that were made by SWO.

"Shit..." Dann muttered, the creature standing nearly four heads taller than him. "Hurry up Kirito!"

"Just... about... done!" Kirito exclaimed, jumping down to the bottom steps of The Forge.

"Thank God! Switch!" Dann said, dashing up the steps to construct his own lightsaber.

...

" **Grrrrr...** " The Forge Guardian growled, causing Kirito to smirk as he extended his lightsaber.

"*SSSZZHH*! *VRRRMMP*!" A purple blade of plasma extended from the hilt, followed shortly after by two quillons that ignited and began to vent out the raw power of the crystal used to create the blade.

Glancing back behind him, Kirito saw that Dann had made his way to the top of the steps.

" **RRAAAAAGGHHH!** " The Forge Guardian raised its massive hand up, poised to strike the black haired player.

Giving his crossguard lightsaber a test swing, Kirito raised his purple blade at the creature.

'I'm... I'm going to survive...' Kirito mentally said, gaining an edge in his eyes as he prepared to fight. 'In this world!'

And with that, he released a battle cry and charged the beast.

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" **Welcome!** " Dann noticed the blue textbox pop up. " **Before you receive your lightsaber, you must answer some questions. Be truthful when you answer them!** "

"Oh God..." Dann groaned.

" **Question 1: You're in the final mile of a marathon, but the last stretch is exhausting! What will you do?** "

" **a.) Hang in there and finish!** "

" **b.) Stop running.** "

" **c.) Find a shortcut.** "

"A." Dann replied.

" **Question 2...** "

...

" **Now for one last thing!** "

"Ah! Finally!" he exclaimed, having dealt with nearly thirty questions.

" **Place your hands around the crystal.** " A plain white crystal suddenly appeared out of nowhere, hovering just above the pedestal that Dann had to answer the questions from.

"Eh? Alright..." he muttered, placing his hands near the crystal.

" **Relax. Calm yourself... And now count backward from three.** "

"Three... two... one." Dann said, the crystal lighting up with a green hue the moment he reached 'one'.

Then the various components that made up a lightsaber suddenly appeared out of nowhere, interlocking and forming a custom lightsaber with a simple cylindrical design.

" **You received x1 Form III Duelist's Lightsaber!** "

Grasping the hilt in one hand, Dann ignited the lightsaber, the green plasma blade springing to life in less than a second.

"... Form III?" he questioned.

"Less thinking more fighting!" Kirito called out, reminding him of the creature below that needed to be dealt with.

"Right! Almost forgot about that..." Dann mumbled, dashing down the steps with his green lightsaber in hand.

...

" **Hmm... I see what you mean.** "

" **So you agree? They are of noteworthiness?** "

" **The former Beta, Kirito, yes. Dann Soral, however... We will need to keep more of an eye on him to formulate a more concise conclusion.** "  
" **I see...** "  
" **Is there... something you wish to add, sister?** "

" **I wish to be the one who overviews these two, brother.** "  
" **Hm. Since you were the one who brought these two to my attention, you may do so as you please.** "

" **Yay! Thank you, brother!** "  
" **First Eta, then Iota, now you too, Upsilon? Who's next? Kappa? Omicron?** "

" **Oh hush, brother. Now... would you report to father in my stead? I don't want to go just yet.** "  
" **Of course... sister.** "

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"I hope to God this is the right direction..." Kibishin muttered, cautiously making his way through the twisting and turning hallways that seemed to go on for eternity.

" _ **Jensaarai, hadzuska koshujontu tsawak... midwan hyal?**_ "

The voice that called out to him was ancient, booming, demanding no less than full attention. Yet he could not understand what it was saying, something that seemed highly odd, considering that all languages - from English to German to Mando'a - had an automatic translation, whether it was to an audibly comprehensible language or from subtitles.

"Uhh... what?" he called out dumbfounded, unable to understand the language that was being spoken.

" _ **Midwan chats, dzwol qo kots chwuq kun.**_ "

"I can't understand what you're saying!"

A gust of wind suddenly shot past him, nearly knocking Kibishin off his feet...

As well as pulling the torch, his only source of light, out of his hands. The golden-orange flaming stick clattered against the ground, dying in an instant and leaving the pinkette without any illumination.

" _ **Embrace the darkness.**_ "

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"You did pretty good for your first time out there, Jay." Cypersix praised, one arm wrapped around to Jaylan's shoulder.

"..." Jaylan said nothing, the events that happened not even a few hour ago still playing over and over in his mind.

"C'mon, Jay. Say something, _anything_."

"... How do I get over it?" he finally asked.  
"Pardon?" Cypersix responded, tilting her head slightly at the vague question.

"How do I get over killing someone? I... I can still see them in my mind, every time I close my eyes..." Jaylan questioned, causing the Chiss player's eyes to soften slightly.

...

"I dunno."  
"Huh?"  
"I said I don't know." Cypersix replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Personally, I've never really found a problem with killing in this world. It's kinda strange..."  
"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Well I guess then the best thing to do is... maybe find a coping mechanism? Something that you can use to ease your mind? Something you can fight for?" Cypersix suggested.

"I... What would I use to cope?" Jaylan queried.

"Beats me. That's something only you can answer." she replied, giving Jaylan one last pat on the back before standing up. "The arena's contract says that you only need to survive four fights, but you can stay on after that if you'd like."

"How many fights have you been in so far?" he questioned, causing her to hum in thought briefly.  
"Me? Seven." Cypersix responded, sending a flirtatious wink towards Jaylan before turning and walking out of the room, leaving the male player alone to his thoughts...

'Something I can fight for...' Jaylan thought, glancing down at the vibrosword he had used, lain against the very bench he sat on.

He immediately recalled the tattoo he had equipped, the symbol of Clan Ordo. It was Mandalorian, of that he was certain, but beyond that, he had no knowledge of this 'Clan Ordo'...

At this point, he would have normally used the Goggle search engine to search 'Clan Ordo' on the Internet, but considering he was trapped in the Internet, it was highly unlikely that he would find what he was looking for.

" **Hey, mate.** " Jaax's voice pierced his train of thought like a lightsaber through durasteel, causing him to snap towards the room's entrance. " **Congrats. You've got a fan.** " he said, pulling out a hologram projector and clicking the button to turn it on.

Jaylan was quite surprised when an image of the Hutt that had rooted for him appeared.

" **Achuta, champio. Chuba fofo moulee-rah myo - Huttuk!** (Hello, champion. You doubled my money - Hutt-size!)" the Hutt exclaimed, followed by a boisterous laughter that lasted for at least ten seconds. " **Jeeska tonka gee ta hodrudda, um mee wamma chuba grancha. Kickee da waba chuba - punyoos, cheeka, pankpas - chuba wamma fofo moulee-rah myo andoba tee-tocky goba bo! Jee choba nopa un bargon kankee anboda, hagwa dopa-meeky choba ma, ootmian champio.** (Keep up with the competition, and I will pay you greatly. Anything that you wish - weapons, women, starships - you need to double my money another seven times first! I will not offer a deal of this kind again, do not double-cross my offer, outlander champion.)"

And with that, the holographic transmission cut out, leaving the vague warning-opportunity for Jaylan to think on.

" **... That was Gushado the Hutt, quite the influential Hutt on this planet. If you can name it, then he can get his hands on it.** " Jaax stated. " **You have either really good or shitty luck, but seven more fights to win nonetheless.** "

"Will I ever meet him in person or...?" Jaylan asked.

" **Heh. Survive those seven fights and we'll see.** "

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"Darkness there and nothing more..." Kibishin muttered, hesitantly feeling around in the air for anything to grasp onto.

" **Move forward five paces...** " The pinkette froze upon hearing the familiar voice.

"... Eta?" he called out.

" **Move forward five paces.** " the voice repeated.

"..." Sighing, Kibishin decided to listen to the voice and walk forward five paces...

"*CLINK*!" Only to step on some type of pressure plate, sinking an inch into the ground and locking into place.

"Shit." Kibishin cursed, bracing himself for anything that was to come.

...

After a few seconds of not experiencing the sweet embrace of death, the pinkette decided to crack his eyes open. And in place of the darkness that had been here moments ago, the entire chamber - which was large enough to hold a herd of Rancors - was lit up by torches. There was a hexagonal platform in the center of the chamber, four obelisks surrounding the structure, and the only other person in the chamber...

" **See? I told you, Kibi-kun~** " His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Eta standing a few yards in front of him, arms clasped together behind her back and bouncing back and forth on her heels.

"Eta? What are you - nevermind... where _are_ we?" Kibishin asked, looking around the ancient carvings that made up the walls of the chamber.

" _ **So... you seek the power of the Dark Side.**_ " It was that same voice from before, the one that spoke to him earlier.

"Who-" " _ **If you seek power, then you must first pass the trial!**_ "

A strange burst of darkness exploded at the platform, manifesting into the form of a cloaked figure with a lightsaber in hand, the crimson blade igniting seconds later.

" _ **Fall like those before you!**_ " the cloaked figure yelled.

" **Kibi-kun! Catch!** " Eta exclaimed, throwing a crate towards the pinkette.

"What the fuck is that. Who the fuck are you. And what the FUCK is happening?!" Kibishin questioned, pointing towards the incoming crate, then towards the cloaked figure, and finally stretching his hands out and flailing around comically...

"*BAM*!" That is, until the crate impacted against his skull, knocking him over and leaving him with a throbbing pain in his cranium.

" _ **Prepare yourself, Acolyte.**_ "  
" **Open the crate up now! Hurry!** "

"What is it?!"  
" **Just hurry!** "

"Fine..." Kibishin muttered, tapping the crate twice in rapid succession and causing it to burn in a bright light, shifting form between various familiar lightsaber designs until finally settling on...

"No freaking way..." Grasping the cylindrical hilt with both hands, he automatically equipped the lightsaber, not even bothering to look at the weapon's name for the recognition of its design alone was enough for him to know what it was...

And admittedly, he felt his heart skip a beat from excitement alone as the blue plasma blade sprung to life.

"Heh... let's do this!"

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"*GASP*!" Kibishin suddenly shot up out of his bed, gasping for air as if he were deprived of it. Patting himself down, he found that he was still in his underwear and alone in his quarters, just as he was when he fell asleep...

"It was just a dream..." he muttered, attempting to get out of the tangled mess that was his bedsheets.

...

"No way... Impossible!" The pinkette traced his finger over a particular slot in his inventory, shaking as he realized that what had happened was not a dream...

Which, in turn, caused him to stumble off his bed with a loud crash.

"Kibishin-kun!" Asura cried out, dashing through the doors of his quarters the moment it opened up, having heard the crash and rushed off towards its source wearing nothing more than a white towel that loosely clung to her with her hair and body dripping wet...

"Hggnhh!" Kibishin grunted, pushing back up only to get a nosebleed as he collapsed backwards.

"KYAAAAAAA!" Asura exclaimed, clasping the towel tightly to her body as she realized what she was wearing, or rather the lack thereof what she was supposed to be wearing.

"Yi - Asura! What's... wrong..." Indra trailed off, seeing her sister paralyzed in embarrassment and Kibishin on the floor with blood coming out his nose.

"Ugh..." Kibishin groaned, attempting to push back up...

Only to get shot back by another nosebleed.

"What the..." It was at that moment that she realized that, like her sister, the only thing she wore was a towel that clung to her dripping wet body...

...

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gokugo groaned, lifting his head up off of his pillow briefly at the sound of a feminine cry.

After a moment of internal debating, his head dropped back down, attempting to return to the serene sleep he was in beforehand, saying only one thing which was muffled from his face being smothered into the pillow...

"To hell with that scream. I need my sleep."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"*SZHOOM*!" Kirito jumped back as Dann slashed his new green lightsaber at their rather formidable foe.

 **Forge Guardian, Lvl. 10, Hp: 1567/5000**

"Switch, Kirito. I've got it from here." Dann stated, adopting a defensive stance as the Forge Guardian loomed over him.

" **RAAAAAAAAGHH!** " the beast bellowed, bringing up one of its hands to slam Dann, only to have its strike pushed back by the green blade of plasma, allowing the players to get in four extra slashes into its body, one from Dann and the other three from Kirito and dealing 217 damage total in the process.

"A few more good hits and it should be done for! Damn, Kirito..." Dann said. He would've whistled but found himself tongue-tied when he had to push back another strike from the Forge Guardian meant for him.

"Try eviscerating it!" Kirito exclaimed.

"Eviscer-what?"  
"Cut the thing in half!"

"Oh..." Dann mumbled, jumping out of the way of a third strike. "Why didn't you just say cut the thing in half?!"

"Come on! When else do you think we'll be able to use that word?!" Kirito retorted, gripping his crossblade lightsaber with both hands and horizontally slashing at the Forge Guardian's chest and leaving a searing cut that went through both front and back and nearly halfway through the beast.

"Tou-fucking-ché!" Dann yelled, barely pushing back another slash from the Forge Guardian.

"Language!" the black haired Jedi Knight player cried out, getting in a second strike and nearly cutting through three-fourths of the beast's body.

"Oh get used to it! You're in an VRMMORPG! Not hearing any curses is like finding a unicorn having tea with a yeti!" Dann responded, craning his body back, gripping his lightsaber with both hands, and slashing at the creature's chest, connecting with the other wounds that were inflicted and thus severing the beast in two.

...

The Forge Guardian froze up, almost as if its brain was not able to grasp the feeling of missing one half of its body. Then, just as fast, its body began to dissolve into particles, a look of calm, morbid acceptance on its face as it was erased from existence...

Dann and Kirito almost felt bad for the creature, were it not for the fact that was not real... at least in their eyes.

" **Congratulations! You received x1 Zakuul Shield!** "

" **Do you wish to equip? Y/N.** "

"You want it, Kirito?" Dann asked, motioning to the textbox that popped up.  
"Nah. Doesn't really suit my style." Kirito replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"... Equip." Dann stated, causing a rather large shield to appear in his free hand. It was nearly his own height and width, bronze in color and with two beams of blue plasma going from less than halfway from the top and straight towards the bottom.

"Huh, neat. Kinda reminds me of the ones from that one expansion from SWTOR."

"You mean Knights of the Fallen Empire?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Sweet..."

"Right... We should get moving now." Kirito said, deactivating his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt.

"Yeah... I don't think that's a good idea." Dann replied, a somber smile on his face.

...

"What?"

"Kirito, the Forge Guardian is likely going to respawn the next time someone tries to create a lightsaber or whatever here." Dann stated.

"And? What about it?" Kirito questioned.

" _What about it_? What about those who don't know about the Forge Guardian? How many would be killed without help or without prior knowledge?" Dann retorted, slamming the bottom of his shield on the ground. "I don't think I could live with myself knowing that. So that's what I'll do..."  
"Become the Forge Guide..." Kirito finished, a somber smile of his own now on his face.

"... Thanks for everything, Kirito. Really. I wish you good fortunes in your travels..." Dann said, igniting his green blade and waving it upward in a heroic pose.

"... Heh! You just sounded like an old man just then!" Kirito joked, causing the duo to laugh.

"But seriously... don't go dying on me out there. Live long enough to see this thing to the end." Dann stated, deactivating his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt in a similar manner to Kirito.

"I don't plan on losing to this game anytime soon." Kirito said, extending his fist towards Dann.  
"Live long and prosper." Dann responded, reaching out with his own hand curled into a fist and fistbumping the black haired player.

"... Wrong series."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

"-Are you sure you can't come with us?" Kibishin questioned, standing at the Outpost Warden Taxi Station with Asura and Gokugo.

"When other players get to Dromund Kaas, we'll try to expand the guild, guide them however we can..." Gokugo stated. "But we can't do that with your mission in mind."  
"And your reason, Asura?" Kibishin asked, causing her to look down at the ground.

"I... I don't think I'm suited for combat. I'd just slow you guys down..." Asura mumbled.

"Asura-" "That's why I need to get stronger!" she suddenly exclaimed, lifting her head back up and meeting Kibishin's gaze with her own, a fiery determination in her eyes. "I don't want to be a burden! So I need to train and level up and-"  
"I get it, Asura." Kibishin interrupted. "But don't think for a second that you're a burden... to **anyone**."

"..." She was speechless, a tinge of red on her cheeks as she quietly sputtered and mumbled to herself.

"Good luck out there, Kibi-chan!" Gokugo said, sending one last wave towards the pinkette before entering the Speeder Taxi, flying off in less than a second towards parts unknown to Kibishin.

...

"Asura, I-" Kibishin began, only to lose his breath when Asura claimed his lips with her own. His eyes widened, Asura's being closed and both their faces flushed red. Their kiss lasted for only a few seconds, but felt like an eternity to the pinkette when they parted, a small, very thin trail of saliva going between them.

"Yin... Tenragoku Yin." she stated, her blush matching her hair color and a smile on her face.

"I..."  
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me just yet." Asura said. "It gives me something to look forward to the next time I see you."

"H-Hai... Yin-chan." Kibishin replied, receiving another peck on the lips from Asura.

"Good luck..."

 **-Star Wars Online-**

" _I believe in you..._ "

"You ready for this?" Indra called out, snapping Kibishin from his stupor as he gazed upon those who stayed at his starship.

"So this is the motley crew, eh?" the pinkette called out, strutting over to each person as he spoke. "Indra, the rambunctious head-strong Sith Warrior..."  
"Damn right you are." Indra grinned.

"-Sinon, the crackshot, young Imperial Agent..."

"Well I wouldn't say crackshot..." Sinon muttered, slightly abashed from the praise.

"-2V-R8, the feisty yet fiercely loyal droid..."

" **Of course, master.** " 2V-R8 stated.

"-And me! The suave, charming, handsome-"  
"Gullible?"  
"-gullible captain! Wait... shit!"

"Oh come on, it was too easy." Indra teased, grinning at how easily she tricked her 'captain'.

...

"Right. Well..." Kibishin began. "Our mission will be not only for us, but for _all_ the players trapped here."

"... Which means?" Sinon asked.  
"According to Kayaba, the only way to beat the game is to beat all one-hundred bosses on all one-hundred planets. However, he did not reveal the locations of any of these World Bosses." Kibishin explained. "What I plan to do - and hope that you will all join me - is scout as many planets as I can to locate these World Bosses. Not _fight_ them, just locate them for other players."

"So... we're reconnaissance?" Indra questioned.

"I prefer the term 'adventurers'." Kibishin retorted. "So... you guys in?"

" **I will follow you until the end, master.** " 2V-R8 replied.

"I guess so..." Sinon responded.

"... Hell, you know I'm in!" Indra exclaimed.

"Great! Now then, our first stop is..." Kibishin started, grinning as he spoke. "Tython."

"Tython!/ **Tython!** /Tython?" Indra/2V-R8/Sinon exclaimed at the same time, the latter not recognizing the name.

"That's right! Starting planet for Jedi Consulars and Jedi Knights!" Kibishin exclaimed. "There is a certain place called 'The Forge' where custom lightsabers can be built. If we can get our hands on some non-red crystal lightsabers, then passing off as Jedi in front of other players will be easier."  
"What about me?" Sinon questioned.

"I've got a weapon in mind for you, but it's not on Tython and much harder to get." Kibishin replied. "It's worth it, but still hard to get."

" **Shall I prepare the necessary course immediately, master?** " 2V-R8 queried.  
"Yeah, go do... that." Kibishin said awkwardly.

" **Right away, master!** " 2V-R8 exclaimed, walking up and into the ship.

"Any other reasons, Kibishin?" Indra asked.

"Yeah. A friend of mine, a fellow Beta who knows the game like the back of his hand." Kibishin responded. "Hopefully, he'll help us out or at least give us some information that might be."

"Is there a name to go with this fella?" Indra questioned.

"Yeah..." Kibishin said. "Kirito."

Chapter End

* * *

 **Post AN: I know it may seem like that one scene doesn't make sense, but all in good time, young padawans. All in good time...**

 **And just so you know, I have four pairings planned so far, and none of them are Harems nor will there ever be Harem pairings. Also, I'm still accepting any and all OCs that people want seen in the story, because this is going to be one very long story. At least, that's what I have planned. More than 100k+ words, hopefully I can reach 200k words and beat my old record of... 130k words? If I recall correctly.**

 **Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Ja mata!**

 **-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!**


End file.
